Assisted living
is not inexpensive. The charges are for "rent" and for "add ons"
(personal service charges). Be sure of what is included in the rent
charge and what is considered 'extra' -- it varies. Dispensing
medications will be an extra, for example.
Also, be aware that
you'll likely pay an amount equal to one month rent in advance and it'll
be labeled as some sort of community fee. [Note: the value you receive
varies from place to place. Met their activities director, if they have
one.]
Also know that you may be liable for a penalty equal to one
month's rent if you move your loved one out for a non-medical reason
(say, if you choose to move your loved one to a different facility).
These things are in the contract -- so take your contract home and read
it before signing it. The longer the contract, the
more "thorough" you need to be in reading and understanding it.
[Note:
Beware a place that uses a sexy young lady to sell you their package.
Finding a good facility is like finding a good used car. It can be done,
but you have to do some tire kicking. Elder care can be a real racket.]
To
help avoid being scammed, I suggest you let a senior adviser help you. I
used one from "A Place For Mom" to help me find a facility for my
mother. Simply contact them and you'll be off to a good start. They will
prove invaluable.They earn a fee if you choose a place they refer you
to (much as a rental agent does when you are searching for a home for
yourself). Even if you don't utilize them in this capacity, their
website forum and newsletters will be a good resource.
They found me a
place for my mother that gave us a huge price break simply because they
had vacancies they needed to fill-- and the quality of care is even
better than the "expensive"
place where I'd had my mother.
My personal situation was that
my mother was not easy to deal with. Instead of being able to transition
my mother in a sane manner from her home, I was forced into using my
time in crisis management until she deteriorated to the point that I
could move her without her fighting it excessively. As a consequence, I
wound up putting her in an overpriced assisted living facility (that
also had a memory care unit, in case that soon became necessary). I'd
not had the time nor the energy to properly educate myself. As a
consequence, we burned through a lot of money and were headed toward a
Medicaid application -- until I later found a better option after the
initial move.