Assisted living vs nursing home.
These two get mixed up constantly, and the difference matters because the cost and the kind of care are worlds apart. The short version: assisted living is for help with daily life; a nursing home is for ongoing medical care.
The core difference
Assisted living provides a private apartment plus help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, meals, and medication, with staff on-site around the clock. A nursing home, also called a skilled nursing facility, provides licensed, round-the-clock medical and rehabilitative care. Assisted living is residential; a nursing home is clinical.
Cost
Assisted living runs around $4,591 to $6,200 per month nationally. A semi-private room in a nursing home runs closer to $9,580 per month, because you are paying for medical staff and 24/7 clinical care. See real numbers for your city on our cost of care pages.
Who pays
Assisted living is mostly private pay, sometimes helped by long-term care insurance or a Medicaid waiver. Nursing home care is the one setting Medicaid broadly covers for those who qualify, and Medicare covers short-term rehab stays after a hospital visit. Neither Medicare nor most insurance pays for long-term assisted living.
When each is right
Choose assisted living when your parent is largely healthy but can no longer safely manage daily life alone. Choose a nursing home when there are serious, ongoing medical needs that require licensed nurses, or for short-term rehab after surgery or a hospital stay. Many families start with assisted living and only move to skilled nursing if health needs rise.
Keep reading: The types of senior care · Assisted living vs memory care · Cost of senior care by city