Does Medicare pay for assisted living in Arizona?

Medicare separates ongoing long-term care from covered medical and post-acute services.

What Medicare does not cover: Medicare's official long-term-care page says it does not pay for long-term custodial care. That includes the assisted living charges for housing and ongoing help with activities such as bathing, dressing, and toileting.

What Medicare may cover: a resident can still use Medicare for covered physician, hospital, prescription, therapy, durable-equipment, hospice, and other health services under the usual rules. Medicare Part A may cover short-term skilled nursing facility care when all conditions are met. In Original Medicare, that generally includes a qualifying inpatient hospital stay and a need for daily skilled care; Medicare Advantage plan rules can differ. Coverage can end before 100 days when skilled care is no longer required.

Medicare may also cover eligible home health services for a homebound person who needs part-time or intermittent skilled services. It does not become round-the-clock custodial home care.

What may help with ongoing care: ALTCS may cover long-term services for Arizonans who meet medical and financial requirements and use contracted providers. Some veterans or survivors may qualify for VA pension with Aid and Attendance, and an existing long-term care insurance policy may provide benefits under its own terms. Eligibility is individual, so confirm it with the program or insurer before budgeting.