For seniors and their families who can’t afford the cost of assisted living, the State of Illinois offers a program to help pay for an apartment, meals and services.
Known as the Supportive Living Program, the initiative supports 147 special buildings located throughout the state. The buildings are called supportive living facilities, though they look and function like any other assisted living building.
The big difference is that supportive living facilities accept Medicaid payments. That means seniors who need assisted living care, but who don’t have much money can get the help they need at a supportive living facility.
Take Marilyn Nolan, for example. In the early stages of memory loss, Nolan could no longer live alone. She needed a place where she could get meals and help with some of the activities of daily living. But she couldn’t afford a typical assisted living building where costs run about $4,000 to $5,000 a month.
Nolan’s three sons — she calls them her “heroes” — found her an apartment at Lacey Creek, a supportive living facility in Downers Grove that opened last November. She has her own apartment, gets three meals a day in the common dining room, and enjoys activities provided by the staff. Her social security check and Medicaid funds cover the cost.
“I can’t believe I can afford to live in this nice environment,” says Nolan, 72. “I love it here.”
Though Illinois has its budget problems, the state is on the cutting edge of providing affordable assisted living for seniors. In fact, Illinois has the largest so-called Medicaid waiver program for assisted living in the country. In short, state-provided Medicaid funds can be used to pay the cost at supportive living facilities, which offer a total of more than 12,000 apartments statewide — or about half of all assisted-type living units in Illinois.
“There is a huge need for affordable assisted living,” says Wayne Smallwood, executive director of the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition, Springfield. According to a recent report, Social Security is the only source of income for 1 out of 5 retired seniors in Illinois.
Many local options
The Supportive Living Program opened in 1999. Not only did the state aim to make assisted living affordable to more people, but it also served as a way to reduce costs. Previously, seniors who could not afford assisted living were sent to nursing homes that accept Medicaid, but cost about twice as much as assisted living or supportive living buildings. In 2015, the Supportive Living Program saved the state about $150 million, according to Smallwood.
The Chicago area has 50 supportive living buildings. Thirty-three of those are located in Cook County. (A list of buildings can be found online at illinois.gov/hfs/MedicalPrograms/slf/Pages/locate.aspx.)
Several new supportive living buildings are in the works, including one in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood and another in far southwest suburban Minooka. Also, the state has a pilot program to offer memory care at five supportive living sites, which the state plans to expand to more locations.
The new memory care sites could be up and running in a year or so, Smallwood predicts. It’s important to note that supportive living buildings are regulated by the state with rules similar to those that cover assisted living. Supportive living facilities have a nurse on staff as well as certified nursing assistants. Residents receive three meals a day and help with activities of daily living. The buildings also provide activity programs.
Open to all
Any senior who needs assisted living care can apply for an apartment at a supportive living facility. A senior with savings can pay the private rate for an apartment, about $3,500 a month. After the senior spends down their money, the senior can apply for Medicaid assistance and stay in the building.
Seniors must have less than $2,000 in savings to qualify for Medicaid, and their monthly income cannot exceed the bill for the apartment and services.
The Medicaid application process involves a lot of paperwork, mostly collecting bank statements and other documents to verify the senior’s income and assets. Medicaid conducts a five-year look back at financial records to make sure funds have not been concealed.
The staff at supportive living buildings understands Medicaid requirements and can help, according to Jason Benedict, executive director at Eastgate Manor, a supportive living facility in Algonquin. “We can guide them through the process.”
Besides the Medicaid application, additional paperwork may be required by supportive living facilities built with funds from the state’s tax credit program.
In a typical arrangement, the senior contributes their social security income as well as any pension payments toward the rent. The remainder is made up by Medicaid. The senior can keep $90 a month for personal expenses.
About 60 percent of residents at supportive living facilities receive help from Medicaid. But there are no differences in the apartments or the services provided based on whether the resident is receiving Medicaid assistance.
Because of the low cost, most of the buildings are nearly fully occupied and some have waiting lists. The best advice: Contact the building where you’d like to live and ask about availability.
“The best thing people can do is to inquire,” says Rick Banas, vice president at Gardant Management Solutions, which operates 44 supportive living facilities. If an apartment isn’t available at a particular building, there may be a spot open at another Gardant property. “We’ll see if another community might be acceptable,” says Banas.
