In the interest of planning for the future, my daughter and I visited a very nice Assisted Living center with an AD unit , yesterday. We liked it very much. It seemed too good to be true. We both recognized that DH would need the AD unit. Those in the assisted living can come and go as they please. The services they provided in the AD unit , the activities, the care,everything provided was great. The costs were itemized daily. Medications given daily cost $17. Since DH takes meds three times a day, I don't know if that would cost more. After I went home and added the daily charges, I figured it would cost around $300 per day. I came to the conclusion that we must search for other options.
For anyone considering AL, be sure to find out about hidden costs. The one my father is in was very up front about all of the fees, but some of them are not. For example, it is common to charge a fee for dispensing medications depending upon how many meds. are taken. I forgot how much they are charging my father. The more meds, the higher the fee. In my father's AL, they assess the resident by level of care needed. Levels 1-4. 4 is total care. It goes up about $300 a level.
I knew someone whose mother was in a very high end AL here in the city in which I live. Above and beyond the high monthly fee, they go on a point schedule. Each point is about $10, and they charge ponts for EVERYTHING from transferring from chair to wheelchair to turning the oxygen tank on and off. And it's not one point at a time - depending upon the "service", it can be 1, 2, 3, 4 and up points. That is crazy.
So, as always, buyer beware. Ask a lot of questions and get everything in writing.
We have 2 charges at Don's ALF. One is rental the other is care. I chose a companion room, he does not like to be alone. That fee is 2000.00. A single is 3000.00. We pay the highest care fee. That fee is 1500.00. There are no extras. Meds and everything else is included in that fee. Up front before admission we paid we paid a 3000.00 fee. We are very lucky to have gotten long term health ins. Don's very smart idea.