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What Assisted Living Residences Provide
Assisted Living Residences offer a wide array of mostly non-medical care including 24-hr personal care assistance, housekeeping, laundry, transportation, medication supervision, exercise programs and social activities.
Paying for Assisted Living
Assisted Living fees are most frequently paid out-of-pocket. Families typically use a combination of Social Security, Veterans and other pensions, savings and home equity through a home sale or a reverse mortgage. Medicare does not pay for assisted living. More impoverished families may cover some of the cost using Medicaid waivers. Use our Eldercare Financial Resource Locator Tool to search for options for which you or your loved one is eligible to help pay for Assisted Living.
Regulation of Assisted Living Residences
All 50 states regulate assisted living residences to a degree but there is considerable variation within those regulations. Read more about assisted living regulations in your state here.
Choosing an Assisted Living Residence
If a family is considering an assisted living community, the process typically begins with a phone-screening in which a salesperson or an “intake manager” asks some brief questions to establish if their residence is able to meet the senior’s care needs. The first visit by a family member to the residence typically does not include the person in need of care. Once the family is comfortable with the community they will visit with the senior to establish their comfort level. Almost all residences have persons assigned to helping a senior with the transition in the days and weeks following their move.
The Assisted Living Federation of America offers a helpful and extensive guide to helping families evaluate assisted living residences and preparing them for the move.
Assisted Living Residences Are Also Known As:
-Personal care homes
-Eldercare facilities
-Domiciliary care
-Board and Care
-Memory Care Facilities
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-Residential Care Facilities
-Community-Based Retirement Facilities
-Adult Living Facilities
-Senior Living Residence |
-Adult Foster Care
-Sheltered housing
-Community residences
-Group Homes
-Adult Family Homes |
Costs of Assisted Living
The fees associated with assisted living are typically made up of monthly rent with additional charges based on the level of attention the resident requires. The national average amount paid in 2009 was $3,131 / month and different state averages ranged from $2,041 to $5,219. Patients requiring Alzheimer’s or dementia care paid an additional $1304 or approximately $4,435 / month.
Options to Help Pay for or Reduce the Cost of Assisted Living
These resources and programs can help pay for assisted living or in some way reduce the cost of assisted living. Some are designed specifically for assisted living while others simply reduce the cost of living for the elderly, enabling those financial resources to be applied towards assisted living.
Many of these options will not be relevant to you or your family. To determine those for which you are eligible, use the Eldercare Financial Resource Locator.
Accelerated Death Benefit
Colorado Old Age Pension
Death Benefit Loans
Elderly and Disabled Tax Credit
Equity Key
Family / Friends Loans
Federal Elderly Care Tax Credit
Florida OSS for Seniors
Government Housing Assistance
Home Equity Line of Credit
Life Settlement
Long Term Care Insurance
MD Assisted Living Subsidy
Medicaid
Medical Expense Tax Deductions
Reverse Mortgages
RI Enhanced Assisted Living Program
Senior Care Bridge Loans
Social Security
SSI State Supplements
State Elderly Care Tax Credit
Supplemental Security Income
Survivors’ Benefits
VA Health Care
VA Pensions
Viatical settlement
Wisconsin SSI-E
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