Compare Senior Living and Long-Term Care Options

Comparing all of your senior living options is a challenge. Some companies use the same terminology to describe different services. It can be confusing, but it is essential to understand what the different types of care offer so you can choose what best suits your individual needs.

Here’s an informed breakdown to help you distinguish between the different options. We’ve provided key information to help you every step of the way.

Nursing Homes

Nursing homes provide round-the-clock medical care and daily living care to seniors. When comparing nursing homes, look carefully at the individual services offered, the amount of space and privacy given, and the type of qualified professionals on staff.

Care Comparisons

Nursing homes provide both daily living support and medical care in a single location. They are known for providing skilled nursing care and convalescent care. Some seniors go to nursing homes for short stays, for rehab after an illness, injury, or surgery. Many seniors reside in a nursing home on a permanent basis.

Usually, individuals have a single room that they may share with another person. You are no longer living independently or in your home when you become a full-time resident of a nursing home. You also want to consider the various types of nursing homes before making a final decision about the best place for yourself or a loved one.

Some offer secure locations with programming and support for individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s or dementia, for example. These memory care divisions or special care units (SCUs) offer a critical resource: the staff is educated on how to work with individuals specifically suffering from these conditions.

Nursing homes will likely not have the intensive services or range of offerings for the cognitively impaired that a full-service memory care facility will have.

We’ve put together in-depth guides to help you compare nursing homes and other types of care below:

• Nursing Homes vs. Home Care
• Nursing Homes vs. Hospice
• Nursing Homes vs. Memory Care
• Nursing Homes vs. Assisted Living

Cost Comparisons

When considering nursing homes, costs depend on the amount of space, privacy, and level of care needed. Those who need more medical care will spend more at these facilities. Nursing homes cost more than assisted living communities or in-home care, but Medicare may help cover some costs, especially the medically related ones.

Nursing home prices vary based on state, facility, and level of care. The median annual cost for 2024 was $107,146 for a semi-private room and $120,304 for a private room. Note that prices vary widely by state. For example, a semiprivate room in Alaska could set you back $19,267 per month whereas a similar room in Missouri might cost $5,262 per month.

We encourage you to use our website to carefully compare options in senior homes and nursing homes. Look for information about staffing, services, and memory care availability.

Assisted Living

Assisted living facilities provide seniors with more freedom and privacy than nursing homes, but these older adults still receive assistance. Seniors at assisted living centers often need help with activities of daily living, such as bathing, grooming, and getting in and out of bed.

They may even have chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease, but they don’t require the 24-hour medical assistance and round-the-clock care that those in nursing homes require.

Seniors reside in private or semi-private living spaces. Most facilities offer housekeeping, meals, and transportation for medical appointments. Social activities at assisted living centers often include exercise routines and crafting.

Care Comparisons

Assisted living communities allow individuals needing care to live close to their families should they want to but in apartment-style homes. These older adults are pretty independent but do need help with those everyday tasks.

Their counterparts in independent living facilities, for example, don’t need care with bathing, dressing, etc., and choose to live among their peers in a place with amenities.

Assisted living is not end-of-life or hospice care either. Assisted living is designed for those who need a bit of help with daily tasks, while hospice care provides pain relief and comfort for terminally ill individuals.

Compare assisted living with other options more in-depth by checking out our guides below:

• Assisted Living vs. Home Care
• Assisted Living vs. Hospice
• Assisted Living vs. Independent Living
• Assisted Living vs. Memory Care

Cost Comparisons

The cost of assisted living is greater than living at home but is typically less expensive than facilities providing medical-based care such as memory care or nursing homes. Older adults will find a wide range of cost options, but keep in mind that Medicare does not generally cover this type of care.

Hospice

The end-of-life process is not easy. Hospice focuses on assisting those with a terminal illness who are no longer getting treatments to sustain them. An array of hospice services can give an individual medical assistance and support to ease their last weeks and months of life. This specialized type of care is designed to improve the hospice patient’s quality of life.

Care Comparisons

Hospice is unlike assisted living and nursing homes as it’s set up to address a patient’s physical, mental, and spiritual concerns before they pass away. Generally, this type of care is designed to make the final days or months pain-free and meaningful while also supporting family members.

Compare hospice with assisted living and nursing homes using the articles below:

• Hospice vs. Assisted Living
• Hospice vs. Nursing Homes

Cost Comparisons

Hospice costs range widely and also include different levels of care. Hospice is typically less expensive than other types of care like nursing homes and assisted living.

It focuses less on high-priced medical treatments and expensive housing. Most hospice centers provide care (at home or at the location) for a limited amount of time. Additionally, most types of senior insurance programs and Medicare will help to pay for hospice needs.

Many people confuse palliative care with hospice care. They are not the same, though both types of care are dedicated to offering pain and symptom relief. Palliative care helps seniors suffering pain and side effects from a serious illness. Hospice care only helps people with a limited life expectancy who forego curative treatment. Anyone with a serious illness (including those pursuing curative treatment) can have palliative care at any stage of their illness.

Skilled Nursing

Skilled nursing services are offered at locations that provide medically required care. For example, skilled nursing is often provided at nursing homes, but not always. So, be sure to check with the local facility and what levels of care they provide.

Care Comparisons

If you break a hip, for example, you will likely go to the hospital. The next step would be rehabilitation, either within the hospital or at another location where you can be monitored. During rehab, you can get physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy to assist you on your path to recovery.

You might then need to transition to a stand-alone skilled nursing facility (SNF). SNFs offer older adults help in healing from wounds and surgery, as well as care for tube feeding. SNFs help with ongoing medical care for complex medical needs and are also available for individuals with chronic conditions who require specialized nursing care and assistance.

Read the guides below to learn more about how skilled nursing care differs from nursing homes and assisted living centers:

• Skilled Nursing vs. Nursing Homes
• Skilled Nursing vs. Assisted Living

Cost Comparisons

Skilled nursing can be expensive and typically costs more than assisted living because it provides a higher level of medical care, including 24/7 nursing supervision. But the good news is Medicaid, Medicare, and most insurance plans offer coverage for this type of care.

Several factors affect what you pay for skilled nursing including your location, length of stay, type of care, insurance benefits, whether it’s a private or semi-private room, and whether it’s a luxury senior living facility or not.

Home Care

Many seniors prefer to age in place, rather than go to a facility. They choose to have caregivers come to them where they are most comfortable: in their home.

Home care services are those in which a professional (like an aide or homemaker) comes to your home to help you. These aides help with day-to-day chores like dressing, hygiene, and grooming. Typically, their services include companionship and light housekeeping as well. Most often, home care is understood to be nonmedical care.

Care Comparisons

The types of services provided will vary depending on the senior’s needs. In some cases, skilled nurses will visit homes to provide medical care, but in-home care mostly involves helping seniors remain independent through nonmedical assistance.

Cost Comparisons

Home care usually costs less than other types of care because you remain at home so you don’t have the expense of a facility. However, the cost of a paid caregiver will vary by location and chosen provider.

A family member may even work unpaid hours to help a family member. So, you aren’t paying out of pocket for the assistance. But when the caregiver is juggling their own family, a job, and care for a senior as these people (predominantly women) often are, they may become stressed. At that point, you may need to look for assistance. That’s when you might turn to respite care or a paid home caregiver.

You might hire an aide for a few hours per day and only two days a week. If that’s the case, you won’t rack up bills because you won’t be receiving lots of assistance or paying for expensive medical treatments.

Some seniors don’t have friends, neighbors, or family available to assist. It’s common to turn to in-home care directly. A flexible service, in-home care is based on the amount of time an individual needs. However, costs can quickly add up. Genworth puts the national median cost of a homemaker at $72,820 per year for 2025.

Comparing Health Insurance Plans

Most seniors in the United States have Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and/or Medigap plans. These are the plans that help them pay for medical coverage. Not all seniors qualify for or use all of these plans.

Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid

Medicare is a federally funded health insurance program primarily for seniors 65 years and older. (It also covers younger folks with disabilities.) Medicare provides support for an individual’s medical needs in terms of medical care and preventive care.

Medicare Advantage is a type of Medicare health plan. It’s offered by private insurers that contract with Medicare. It combines the Original Medicare benefits (Parts A and B) with additional coverage like prescription drug coverage (Part D). It often includes extra benefits such as vision, dental, and hearing.

Medicaid is a joint federally-funded and state-funded program that offers support to seniors with low income and assets. Medicaid coverage varies by state but generally includes a wider range of services than Medicare, such as long-term care and prescription drug coverage.

Medicare and Medicaid programs can help cover many of the costs associated with maintaining physical and mental health needs throughout a senior’s lifetime, both within and outside of healthcare facilities. However, eligibility and coverage vary by plan and state. It’s crucial to check your local state’s regulations for specific details.

Supplemental Plans

To fill in the gaps in Medicare coverage, many older adults opt for supplemental plans. These plans help cover the health-related costs that seniors have which Original Medicare will not pay for.

Medigap policies also help reduce what seniors pay outright for services. What Medicare does not cover — such as payments for coinsurance, co-payments, and deductibles — Medigap policies might take care of.

Medigap may allow more flexibility in where you get care when compared to Original Medicare. Visit our Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap guide for more details.