We will soon post a separate blog outlining the differences between a Continuing Care Community (CCRC) and a Life Plan Community, but in this blog we are honing in on the differences between an Assisted Living Facility and a CCRC. Primarily it boils down to the difference in services they offer.
Assisted Living communities provide 24 hour custodial care and services for residents who need help with their daily activities. This covers many different degrees of independent living, which works well for situations where it may be too much for a family to assist their older adults on a daily basis. However when a person can no longer live independently and needs a higher level of care, they must move out of the facility which often means leaving dear friends and experiencing emotional stress.
Continuing Care Communities include a wider range of services from independent senior living to assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, and hospice care. As a resident’s needs increase, instead of moving out of the facility they move to a different area of the same campus and have access to appropriate levels of medical care.
Keep in mind, the cost is initially less for an assisted living facility. According to the 2019 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, the average monthly cost of an assisted living facility in the United States is $4,051 ($48k+ per year). CCRCs on the other hand normally charge a larger up front initial fee (on average a cool $329k) but this ensures they will be cared for, at whatever level of service they need, for the rest of their life. After the initial fee they also pay monthly fees as well ($2k+). One way to look at it is to consider the scenario of living 10 yrs in an assisted living facility, where it could end up costing over $480k… Take a deeper dive here: https://findcontinuingcare.com/blog/ccrc-vs-assisted-living-what-are-the-differences