Assisted Living In Connecticut

Connecticut has a plethora of land and water based museums and activities that showcase the state’s rich history. Many people that love the great outdoors and nautical adventures will enjoy retirement here. There is a large retiring population, with one-third of Connecticut residents being over 50 and that percentage increasing every year. By 2025, it is expected that one in five residents will be 65 or older.

Directory of Assisted Living Facilities in Connecticut

It is crucial to thoroughly investigate any facility you may be considering for yourself or your loved ones. You’ll want to know the size of the facility and the rooms it offers, amenities they provide like recreation and social events, pricing, and more. Use the tool below to research and compare multiple facilities near you.

How to Pay for Assisted Living in Connecticut

Determining how to finance assisted living often starts with the question, “What’s the cost?” In today’s economy, where inflation plays a significant role, having current data is crucial for senior living financial planning. AssistedLiving.org has gathered cost information from its expansive network of over 75,000 senior living providers. This data offers a glimpse into the average expenses for assisted living in Connecticut and 32 additional cities within Connecticut.

How Inflation Has Impacted the Cost of Assisted Living in Connecticut

Inflation has had a dramatic impact on assisted living costs in recent years. From 2022 to 2023, the cost of assisted living in Connecticut rose from $5,122 to $5,919, a 16% increase compared to 10% nationwide. A similar effect was felt in neighboring states, with costs swelling by 15% in New York, 8% in Massachusetts and 6.5% in Rhode Island. Interestingly, assisted living costs actually decreased by 12% in New Jersey.

Inflation is expected to continue into 2024 with costs increasing by another 4% in Connecticut and 14.5% in Massachusetts. Understanding these trends allows for more informed senior planning.

Assisted Living Costs in Connecticut's Top Cities

Assisted living costs vary substantially between Connecticut’s top cities. On the lower end of the cost spectrum, Stamford offers assisted living at $3,860, which is $2,059 below the state average. Costs in Waterbury and West Hartford lie just below the average at $5,222 and $5,692, respectively. At the higher end, Middletown’s costs average $7,200 per month. Given the cost variance, it is crucial to consider a variety of cities when planning for senior living.

Similar to location, the type of senior care is a primary factor that determines the overall cost. Independent living is the most affordable at $3,187, giving seniors maximum autonomy. At $5,919, assisted living balances independence with access to health and lifestyle services on a sliding scale. Memory care demands the greatest amount of specialized treatment, costing $7,257 per month. Determining medical needs and lifestyle preferences beforehand can help inform a more realistic senior living budget.

Financial Assistance for Assisted Living in Connecticut

The state of Connecticut offers programs for low-income elderly residents who need assistance with their activities of daily living (ADLs) but want to avoid moving into an expensive, isolating nursing home. These programs pay for care received in-home or the community, such as an assisted living facility. These programs are state-funded and could be limited due to low funding. Connecticut does not assist in paying for room or board in assisted living facilities.

Connecticut Home and Community Based Services Waiver

Medicaid doesn’t pay for assisted living directly, but there is a waiver available that can pay for services received while in assisted living. The Connecticut Department of Social Services’ Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waiver may help pay for doctors visits, medication, transportation, and other healthcare services, including personal care services provided to people living in an assisted living facility. There is currently a long waitlist for this program.

Who is Eligible?

Applicants must qualify for Medicaid to be eligible the waiver. To qualify for long-term care coverage through Medicaid, Connecticut citizens must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Applicants must be legal US citizens or resident aliens, and residents of the state.
• Monthly income limits are set at 300% of the federal SSI standard, which is a total of $2,313 for an individual and $3,471 for a married couple in 2019.
• Total assets cannot exceed $2,000, or $3,000 for a couple. Community spouse laws may apply that allow for protection of some assets, like houses with equities valued between $585,000 and $878,000. An eligible spouse may have other income guidelines and asset protections.
• The applicants need to be age 65 and older, or disabled.

How to Apply

To initiate services with the Medicaid office you can call 1-855-626-6632 to reach a specialist, visit a local Department of Social Services field office, or you can apply online for a speedier process.

Connecticut State Supplement Program

The state maintains a cash assistance program for the elderly, blind or disabled residents who have a monthly income like SSI or VA benefits, but not enough income to pay for needed healthcare services like assisted living. This is an additional monthly payment that the recipient can spend as they choose if living independently, or that is provided directly to a care provider, depending on the person’s individual circumstances.

Who is Eligible

There are age and income restrictions on who is eligible for this program.

• An applicant’s age must be at least 65.
• He or she must be a citizen or resident alien of the US and a resident of Connecticut.
• Applicants must be eligible under strict income guidelines; there must be a monthly income, such as SSI or VA benefits. In most circumstances, monthly income cannot exceed $906 for an individual, or $1,415 for a married couple.
• Assets can be no greater than $1,600 for an individual or $2,400 for a couple.

How to Apply

Call 1-855-6-CONNECT (1-855-626-6632) to speak to the Department of Social Services (DSS) Benefits Center, find your local DSS office, or go online to www.connect.ct.gov to learn more and apply for this and other services

More Ways to Finance Assisted Living

Some additional ways to finance assisted living costs include:

• Veterans Benefits: Veterans can take advantage of several different pension programs to help cover the cost of assisted living. For more information, see the article on benefits.va.gov.

• Life Insurance Policies: Even if a spouse or loved one hasn’t died, certain types of life insurance policies can be used to pay for assisted living. More information is available at longtermcare.acl.gov

• Long-Term Care Insurance: Long-term care insurance is a type of insurance policy that pays for long-term care when it becomes necessary, including the cost of assisted living. For more information on the benefits and drawbacks of this financing method, visit longtermcare.acl.gov.

• Reverse Mortgages: Reverse mortgages allow seniors to access the equity from a home that they own, and these funds can be used to pay for assisted living. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers a federally insured reverse mortgage program.

Free and Low-Cost Resources for Seniors in Connecticut

There are many resources in Connecticut that assist seniors in their retirement. Assistedliving.org has compiled information on local organizations, programs and agencies and categorized them into care types for easy reference.

Food Assistance Programs

Local organizations help ensure elderly citizens have a balanced diet and receive essential vitamins and minerals to remain healthy. Through nutrition programs, congregate meals, home-delivered meals and food pantries, these programs help Connecticut seniors afford the nutritious food they need.

Assisted Living Laws and Regulations in Connecticut

In Connecticut, assisted living facilities are called managed residential communities (MRC), or residential care homes, though this term also includes more specialized care homes. An MRC is the facility that provides residency to adults generally aged 55 or older, as well as:

• Three meals a day
• Access to social activities and regularly scheduled recreational programs like art and exercise groups
• Housekeeping services including in-house laundry
• 24-hour security and call systems

Residents here will have a written residency agreement, as well as an individual service plan (ISP). They must either license as, or contract with, an on-site assisted living service agency (ALSA) to provide help with activities of daily living (ADL) to residents that need extra care. Residents must update their ISPs with the facility at least quarterly to ensure their needs are being met.

The assisted living service agency, or ALSA, provides personal care and nursing services to those that need help with one or more activities of daily living (ADL). An MRC may become an ALSA only once it has been established as an MRC and has gained licensing from the Department of Health to provide personal care services.

In order to provide ADL assistance to residents that want more autonomy, the state allows for Congregate Housing communities, which are like an MRC in that elders live together in a residential community, but with less services offered for frail elders. They are only required to serve one meal a day, and hey do not typically provide supervision, security, or personal care services, though residents are able to provide their own nurses if needed. Make sure to speak with the management of any facility about all the services they offer to make sure your loved ones needs would be met.

Assisted Living Admission Requirements

Assisted living communities in Connecticut cannot accept any resident who is in need of 24-hour nursing care, unless the resident is able to arrange for that care. Any resident of an MRC is able to access assisted living services at any time, either from the licensed MRC or a third party agency. In order to be admitted to an MRC, a person must be able to leave the building on their own in case of emergency.

Assisted Living Service Agencies Scope of Care

A managed residential community (MRC) provides residents with all regularly scheduled meals and snacks, housekeeping (residents are encouraged to do as many of their personal chores like laundry as they are able and want to), activities, and social opportunities. They must also provide transportation to regularly scheduled outings for shopping, recreation, or medical appointments, not on the city bus or other public transportation.

At any time in their stay at an MRC, residents will have access to an assisted living service agency (ALSA) that provides help with any activities of daily living (ADLs) as their needs increase. Nurses and nurse aides are provided by the ALSA to help with activities such as:

• Personal care tasks like grooming, eating, using the restroom, and taking a bath
• Taking medication, by reminding or opening containers if needed
• Transitioning from laying or sitting to standing up
• Preparing food for a special diet
• General housekeeping

Individual Service Plan

The assisted living services agency, with the resident and anyone in their care team, will create an individualized service plan together within seven days of admission to the care facility. This plan will include services the resident needs, the prices, who the providers are, and how often the services are needed. This plan will need to be evaluated quarterly with the resident and community manager.

Assisted Living Medicaid Policy

There may be financial assistance through Medicaid to pay for assisted living costs, but it is prohibited for a program to pay for room and board fees. Programs may be available for elder Connecticut residents who have a very low income, such as SSI, that would provide a monthly payment that can be used to pay for the cost of room and board.

Managed Residential Community Requirements

An MRC must provide a private apartment (though a resident may choose a roommate), with a restroom including a tub or shower and a kitchen area. The managed residential community is also responsible for the daily care of residents by providing:

• 3 regularly scheduled meals a day and access to food at all times
• Regularly scheduled laundry and housekeeping services
• Regularly scheduled private transportation services
• Social and recreational programs to engage residents
• Clean and maintained units
• 24-hour security and emergency call systems
• Washers and dryers for every resident
• Common areas that allow for at least 50% of residents to be in the area together
• Sufficient dining space to allow for regularly scheduled communal meals

Medication Management Regulations

An MRC may permit their unlicensed assistive personnel to help with medication administration, but they have to meet training requirements which include continuing education every 3 years. Family members are allowed to assist with the opening of packages and preparation of medications, but they may not administer them. If a resident needs help taking a medication, an RN may assist with a written doctor’s order.

Connecticut Assisted Living Staffing Requirements

For general MRC purposes, where only room, board, food, and housekeeping are provided, there are no licensed personnel required, and the facility must ensure each resident is aware of the lack of a license. An MRC can gain licensure from the Department of Health, in which case it would have the same staffing requirements as a 3rd-party assisted living service agency (ALSA).

Service agencies must employ a nursing manager as well as a services coordinator, who will be on-site at least 20 hours a week. The nursing manager must be on call 24 hours a day. There is no minimum direct care staffing requirement for either an MRC or an ALSA, and appropriate staffing is up to the discretion of the facility and agency.

There must always be sufficient staff available to all assisted living residents to provide for emergency situations, which includes a 24-hour security program. MRCs are required to employ an on-site service coordinator, who serves as a liaison between the residents and their assisted living service agency. The coordinator is responsible for ensuring that all needs of the residents are met, as well as establishing a council of tenants and providing them the space and time they need to function as self-advocates within the community.

Assisted Living Staff Training Requirements

Any residential care administrator must have completed sufficient education to earn a license through the Department of Health. Every MRC must employ a service coordinator, who has earned at least a Bachelor’s degree or worked in the field for four years. Every ALSA must hire a nursing supervisor that meets similar requirements. Designated supervisors or nurses can provide training of direct care staff if they have at least two years of employment in a care home, at least one of which is in person-centered care for the sick at home.

A managed residential community may provide services that use unlicensed care staff or assisted living aides. The MRC is responsible for determining what is the appropriate percentage of unlicensed care staff that need to be trained. These staff members will be trained for at least 10 hours prior to providing direct care, and at least one hour bi-monthly on topics like:

• Care of residents and policies put forth by the ALSA on how to perform services
• Patients rights including termination of residency and reporting abuse
• Dementia signs and Alzheimer’s disease
• Current topics related to the aging population

Background Checks

There are no background check requirements for employees in a managed residency community (MRC), but the administrator and any medical personnel like nurses and aides must be licensed with the Department of Health, which does include a comprehensive federal background check. Findings that would disqualify a person from working as a nurse or administrator include elder abuse of any kind.

Requirements for Reporting Abuse

Connecticut law states that any professional working in a managed care residency or for an assisted living service agency is a mandatory reporter and needs to be trained on how to detect elder abuse and report it. Failure to report any suspected or witnessed abuse within 72 hours is a misdemeanor for the first offense and carries a $500 fine.

To report an issue with a residents nurse, you can file a complaint online with the Connecticut Department of Health. To complain about care staff or other aspects of a licensed care facility, contact the Facility Licensing and Investigating Section. Call the state Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 860-424-5238 for assistance in filing complaints.

To report suspected or witnessed abuse, call the elder abuse hotline at 1-888-385-4225.

Connecticut COVID-19 Rules for Assisted Living Facilities

Note: The following information was compiled and most recently updated on 2/22/22. Since COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving crisis, be sure to contact your assisted living facility or local Area Agency on Aging for the most up-to-date information.

Source: portal.ct.gov

*Note: This information was not available for this state, contact your local area agency on aging or senior living facility for more information.