For many older adults, advancing age means they’ll face a time when living alone is no longer feasible. Certain aspects of daily living become more challenging, and if you find that you often need assistance to do things like caring for your home and yourself, it might be time to consider moving into an assisted living facility. But what does that mean and what can you expect? Here, we explore the basics of what you need to know about assisted living facilities and how they can help older adults with difficult tasks while offering social contact and activities that stimulate and support.

What does assisted living mean?

Perhaps not surprisingly, more assisted living communities are located in the West and the South – popular parts of the country for many retirees to move to. NCAL data show the following geographical distribution of assisted living facilities: 42 percent in the West, 28.1 percent in the South, 21.8 percent in the Midwest and 8.2 percent in the Northeast.

The National Institute on Aging reports that “assisted living residents usually live in their own apartments or rooms and share common areas.” One feature that can be especially attractive is the fact that most assisted living facilities offer 24-hour supervision and security, meaning that an elderly loved one is less likely to wander off or fall without having access to immediate help.

“Assisted living can relieve some of the stress around an older adult living independently,” says Dr. Tanya Gure, section chief of geriatrics and associate clinical professor in internal medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Particularly for families where children live far away from their aging parents, having the option of moving a loved one into an assisted living facility can lessen the burden and worry for the family and take pressure off other caregivers.

What services does assisted living provide?

The services offered by individual assisted living facilities can vary greatly. Among them are activities that support health and wellness, such as:

• Group exercise classes, hobby classes and social outings
• Dining services and meal preparation
• Personal care services, such as assistance with bathing and dressing
• Housekeeping and living space maintenance
• Medication management
• Transportation to and from medical appointments and other sites off campus.

This variability in what’s offered means then when it comes time to find an assisted living facility for yourself or a loved one, you need to do some homework to find the one that will best serve your needs.

How much does assisted living cost?

This is a big question and a major hurdle for many families, says Roxanne Sorensen, an Aging Life Care specialist and owner of Elder Care Solutions of WNY in Rochester, New York, a case management consultancy. “Each state is different” in how it administers assisted living facilities, and cost ranges can differ significantly from region to region. In addition, depending on the level of care that’s needed and the specific services being purchased, the monthly cost of entering an assisted living facility can vary wildly, with $2,000 to $5,000 monthly being a common range.

A 2017 survey by Genworth Financial found that the median monthly cost for an assisted living community in the U.S. was $3,750, which adds up to about $45,000 annually. It can be hard to predict how long you’ll need to live in such a facility, so hopefully your retirement savings will last as long as you need.

Does Medicare or Medicaid pay for assisted living?

Medicare and most private insurers don’t cover the cost of assisted living, though you may be able to find some long-term care insurance plans that will cover some of the cost of these facilities. In some cases, Medicare, which is a national, government-funded health insurance program for adults over the age of 65, might cover the cost of certain health care expenses incurred while you’re living in an assisted living facility, such as wound care administered by a registered nurse or a doctor, but it does not cover the cost of the assisted living facility itself.

Meanwhile, “Medicaid is a whole different system and is a beast in itself,” Sorensen says, but like Medicare, Medicaid does not cover the cost of assisted living. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage for low-income families and other people with very limited financial resources. Medicaid typically kicks in once an older adult has spent down all of his or her resources. “When you run out of money, you have to look for facilities that accept a Medicaid benefit,” Sorensen says, but these are not going to be assisted living facilities.

Varano stresses that moving to an assisted living facility should not feel like “a death sentence. It should just be a different chapter in your life.” Therefore it’s important to look for facilities that offer activities that fit with your interests and your needs.

Elaine K. Howley, Contributor

Elaine Howley began writing for U.S. News in 2017, covering breast cancer and COPD. Since …  Read more

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