Paying for Care

Money is the question families ask second and worry about first. It helps to know the real numbers before anyone tours anything.

In Colorado, assisted living usually runs between about 4,500 and 7,500 dollars a month. Memory care sits higher, often 5,500 to 9,000 dollars. Independent living is lower, and skilled nursing is higher still. Those ranges move with the metro area, the size of the apartment, and how much hands on help someone needs. A community may quote one base rent and then add a care level fee on top, which is where a budget can quietly slip by a thousand dollars a month.

The guides in this set explain where the money comes from. Most families pay from a mix of sources: monthly income such as Social Security and a pension, savings, the proceeds of a house sale, a long term care insurance policy, and sometimes help from adult children. Veterans and surviving spouses may qualify for VA Aid and Attendance, which adds a monthly benefit on top of a pension. Colorado Medicaid, run through HCPF, can cover care in some assisted living settings through the Elderly, Blind and Disabled waiver, though the list of communities that accept it is short and the wait can be long.

We also cover what is not covered, because that is where the painful surprises live. Medicare does not pay for assisted living or memory care. It pays for a limited stretch of skilled nursing after a qualifying hospital stay, and that stretch usually ends sooner than families expect. Knowing that early changes how you plan.

Read these before you fall in love with a community. A place that fits the budget in year one and not in year three is not a fit, and a good advisor will say so out loud.

When you want numbers for your own situation, our Colorado senior living cost guide lays out current ranges by care level and by city.