Is Assisted Living the Right Choice?

What Services Does Assisted Living Provide?

Assisted living residences vary, but most provide meals, housekeeping, laundry, transportation, and social activities. Assisted living facilities usually provide residents with their own apartments or rooms, as well as some common areas. They also offer personal care, such as help with eating, bathing, grooming, and personal hygiene. Some nursing care is also provided, including help with medications and other treatments.

Can I Get Help Paying for Assisted Living?

Facilities typically offer multiple levels of care depending on what residents need and what they and their families can afford. Individuals who meet certain service and care needs and meet established financial criteria may be eligible for Ohio’s Assisted Living Waiver Program. The program pays the costs of care in an assisted living facility for certain people with Medicaid, allowing the consumer to use his or her personal resources to cover “room and board” expenses.

Two types of services are provided by the program:

• Assisted Living Services include 24-hour on-site response, personal care, supportive services (housekeeping, laundry, and maintenance), nursing, and transportation, three meals per day, and social/recreational programming.
• Community Transition Services are available to individuals who are leaving a nursing facility to enroll in the Assisted Living waiver. These services help them get essential household furnishings and other items to set up their new homes.

Eligible participants:

• Are age 21 or older;
• Need hands-on assistance with dressing, bathing, toileting, grooming, eating or mobility;
• Meet the financial criteria for Medicaid eligibility (determined by your county Department of Job and Family Services); and
• Must be able to pay the state-established monthly room and board payment (rent), which is the current SSI federal rate minus $50.