Hello. I am trying to figure out the best course of action for my mother. Can anybody direct me to a source that could tell me what I might expect to pay for assisted living or in home care in my area? Every website I find is basically just propaganda for a particular for-profit service.
NC, which is my state has some of the lowest costs for Assisted Living. Average is $3000. per month. A lot of people from the north come here for Assisted Living. I've met quite a few. I suspect it's the cost factor.
Some areas are high, like D.C., CA and NY. they can cost over $7000. per month.
Some states pay for the Assisted Living if they qualify by income and need for assistance of care. In that case, it doesn't matter how much the cost. The state pays for the monthly fee and the resident is not required to pay anything additional, though they take your income and let you keep $66.00 per month. At least that's how it's done in NC.
When I was interviewing a place for my loved one to go, I went to the facility, met with their rep., toured the place and got price quotes. I would try that for a couple of the places you feel the most comfortable about.
It cost my Dad $20,000 a month for 24-hour at home care, but these Caregivers are trained, licensed, bonded, insured, pays payroll taxes, etc... plus the agency has workman's comp in case a caregiver becomes injured on the job [back issues are the biggest complaints due to lifting patients].
As for Assisted Living, you would need to visit the ones in the area to see what are the room rentals and what is included in that monthly rent.... and what are the side expenses that one can order. Such as does the facility off free transportation for doctor appointments or would there be a fee? Is there a fee for housekeeping/laundry? Do they have an on-site beauty/barber shop? Are the meals family style or is there a menu? Does the facility offer physical ed for the tenants? The list goes on and on.
An agency and assisted living facilities are expensive to run, thus the owners would like to see a profit on their investments. It takes millions to build a new facility, and millions to keep one running.
Sunny - your post is interesting about folks moving to NC as care costs are low & choices are available. It's a sad new spin on getting old & moving to FL theme! What I found in dealing withTX facilities were that since Tx Medicaid reinbursement rate is super low that it was only a much older Medicaid NH that were nice as they were built bigger with more amenities & space (activities rooms, library, offices for nursing staff, larger nursing stations, apt for family to stay) and stayed that way as they had little to no debt service. The newer NH were a cheap, minimal & skimpy in building & services available.