Costs Of Assisted Living
How much do assisted living facilities cost?
There's a wide range of prices in assisted livings. It varies from one region to the next, and it varies depending on whether it's urban, suburban, or rural. It also depends on the size of the facility and the amount of services that are needed. Many of them have very different levels of services that are needed, and that's definitely one of the things that you want to look at when you're getting ready to move in. I'd say price wise, generally somewhere between two thousand dollars a month to probably upward of six thousand dollars a month, depending on just how much service you need.
What services are not included in the monthly fee at an assisted living facility?
The structuring of the fees in assisted living is quite variable, and so some of them just have a single price or will maybe just have two or three price levels for, let's say, level A, B and C. Others have a lot of a la carte stuff, and it is quite variable from one institution to the next and one corporate entity to the next. Those are things that definitely should be looked into. Every time they use a Kleenex they will charge you for it, where others have more of a comprehensive set of services that would be covered at the same price no matter what. Those are important things to consider when choosing a facility.
Are assisted living facilities eligible for Medicaid?
Assisted living facilities as the law currently is, cannot get paid by Medicaid for providing custodial care. Even though that exact same patient could move half a block away into a nursing home, and the facility would get $4,000 a month. And if you ask me why, I'd tell you, I don't know. It seems like a dumb idea.
What should I look for when choosing a good assisted living facility?
When you're shopping for an assisted living for yourself or for loved ones, I would say just use your usual common sense. See how the facility looks, how are the common areas are kept, get a look at some of the rooms, and probably most importantly, talk to some people who live there, and depending on who's going to be moving in, is it the kind of place that has the philosophy and the kind of services that they would want? Take a look at their activities schedule, and that's true of any of these settings, because the more chronically ill and dependent you are, the longer the day lasts when you're in a place like this and if they've got a lot of good activities that are right up the alley of the person that's moving in, then that can be a huge quality of life issue. So definitely talk to people that actually reside there and see what their take on it is, and what services are available. Is there transportation? Will they be able to take Mom to the doctor's office? Will they have outings to the mall? Will they do fun things that your loved one likes to do?
What are the pros and cons of assisted living facilities?
If you are trying to decipher the pros and cons of moving into an assisted living versus other kinds of settings, I'd say on the plus side, there are services available. And if you have fairly low level needs when you first move in, you probably are going to be able to stay there for a while, even as your needs increase, because they will have services that can be added on. I guess on the downside, they are somewhat more expensive than the independent settings, and also in most states, there are conditions which would mean you have to move out, even if you don't want to - health conditions particularly.
Is there a regulating organization that ranks assisted living facilities?
If you're looking for a ranking on assisted livings, there are national, and usually within the state, there are agencies that are basically trade organizations for assisted livings. And like everything nowadays, customer service and satisfaction and so on are things that are rated. I would say just doing an internet search would be a good way to find out about facilities in your area. Just take it with a grain of salt because not everybody fills those out and sometimes the people who fill them out are the people who don't like them.
