When a parent's dementia is advancing, choosing between memory care and a nursing home in Indiana can feel impossible. The decision turns on one question: how much skilled medical care your parent needs.

Memory care is a specialized form of assisted living for people with dementia who don't need around-the-clock nursing, and it generally adds supports that ordinary assisted living doesn't, such as specially trained staff or secured exits. A nursing home adds full-time nursing care, 24 hours a day, for someone whose medical needs go beyond what memory care can give. In Indiana, assisted living runs a median of about $5,639 a month and a semi-private nursing-home room about $8,942, both below the national medians of about $6,200 and $9,581 in CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey; a memory-care resident pays for the room and may pay extra for the special care., Indiana Medicaid covers nursing-facility care for residents who meet its financial rules, and its waivers can pay for assisted living for someone who meets a nursing-facility level of care., Medicare does not pay for long-term care in either setting. This guide walks through both so the setting matches the care your parent needs and the way your family can pay.

In This Guide

The Core Difference

Both settings serve people with dementia, so families often assume they are interchangeable. They are built for two different levels of medical need, and getting that match right is what keeps your parent safe and spares an avoidable second move.

Memory care is a specialized form of assisted living for people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It generally offers supports beyond ordinary assisted living; specially trained staff and secured exits are examples of what one can include, not features every memory-care unit has. In Indiana, a facility that secures or runs a special unit or program for residents with dementia and markets itself as providing dementia care falls under the state's Alzheimer's and dementia special-care disclosure law (Indiana Code 12-10-5.5): it must prepare a written disclosure covering its staffing, training, activities, restraint guidelines, and itemized charges. Indiana Department of Health guidance describes a state rule requiring six hours of dementia-specific training within 30 days for staff assigned to the dementia unit, and three hours a year after that. It is a residential model: it suits someone with Alzheimer's or another dementia who needs dementia-focused supervision but is otherwise medically stable, not someone who needs daily skilled nursing.

A nursing home includes all the services of an assisted living community plus full-time nursing care, 24 hours a day. In Indiana, nursing homes are licensed by the Indiana Department of Health through its Division of Long-Term Care. It is the right setting when a person's needs cross into ongoing skilled nursing: complex medical conditions, advanced dementia with medical complications, or a level of care that requires licensed-nurse attention day and night. Some nursing homes have special Alzheimer's care units, often in a separate section of the building with specially trained staff, so a resident who needs both skilled nursing and dementia-specialized care can get both in one place.

Memory Care vs. Nursing Home in Indiana: Side by Side

Here is how the two settings compare on level of care, typical resident, Indiana setting, cost, and who pays.,,,,,,

Memory care Nursing home
Level of care Dementia-specialized assisted living, residential model; for someone who doesn't need around-the-clock nursing 24-hour skilled nursing, medical model
Typical resident Someone with dementia who needs supervision but not daily skilled nursing Someone who needs ongoing skilled nursing, including advanced dementia with medical needs
Indiana setting A special dementia unit or program in an assisted living community (IC 12-10-5.5 disclosure if it markets dementia care) Licensed nursing facility
Cost (Indiana medians, CareScout 2025 survey) Assisted living about $5,639/month; memory care can cost extra About $8,942/month semi-private, $10,326/month private
Who pays The resident pays for the room; Indiana Medicaid waivers can pay for assisted living for those who meet a nursing-facility level of care Indiana Medicaid covers nursing-facility care for those who meet its financial rules; Medicare covers only a short post-acute stay

Who Each Setting Is Right For

Memory care is the right setting when your parent's dementia is the central issue but they are medically stable. If they wander, get lost, or can't safely be left alone, but they don't need daily skilled nursing, memory care is built for that need. Not every unit has secured exits, so if wandering is the worry, ask each community whether its unit has them.,

A nursing home becomes the right setting when the need crosses into skilled medical care: your parent can no longer be cared for without ongoing medical care, and needs licensed nurses on hand around the clock. Indiana Medicaid covers nursing-facility care for residents who meet the state's financial eligibility rules. If your parent has advanced dementia and significant medical needs, a nursing home, ideally one with a special Alzheimer's care unit, is usually the safer fit.

Dementia is progressive, so many families move a parent from memory care to a nursing home as medical needs grow. Knowing that arc in advance, and asking whether a community can serve both levels, makes the eventual transition less wrenching.

What Memory Care and a Nursing Home Cost in Indiana

Indiana's figures come from CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey, released March 2, 2026. Assisted living runs an Indiana median of about $5,639 a month, a semi-private nursing-home room about $8,942 a month, and a private room about $10,326 a month. All three sit below the national medians of about $6,200, $9,581, and $10,798 a month, but these are industry-survey medians, not government rates, and they vary within Indiana because rates are collected by metro area, so treat them as a budgeting starting point.

Memory care is not one of the categories quoted here. A memory-care resident pays for the room and may need to pay extra for the special care, so ask each community whether its dementia unit costs more than the rest of the facility and what the fee includes. In Indiana, a facility offering Alzheimer's and dementia special care must itemize its charges and fees for that care in its written disclosure and make the disclosure available to anyone seeking information on dementia services.

The deeper difference is who pays. Medicaid help with memory care is narrower: Indiana Medicaid pays for assisted living as a home- and community-based waiver service. Its PathWays for Aging Waiver provides assisted living to people 65 and older, and to people 60 to 64 with physical or other disabilities, who meet a nursing-facility level of care, and CMS's list of what the waiver provides does not name room and board. Ask any memory-care community whether it accepts the waiver and what the waiver will and won't pay toward. Since July 1, 2024, Indiana has delivered Medicaid long-term services and supports for most members age 60 and older through PathWays for Aging, a managed-care program run by three contracted health plans. A nursing home is covered by Indiana Medicaid for residents who meet the state's financial eligibility rules. Medicare pays for neither setting long-term; it covers only a short, post-acute skilled-nursing stay of up to 100 days, generally after a qualifying hospital stay of at least three days. That funding difference often matters more than the sticker price: a family that can pay privately for memory care for a while may still rely on Medicaid once a nursing home becomes necessary.

How to Decide

1
Step 1

Does your parent need skilled nursing, or mainly dementia supervision?

If they are medically stable and the issue is safety and cognition, memory care fits; if they need ongoing licensed-nurse care, a nursing home is the setting. Indiana's PathWays for Aging Waiver pays for assisted living only for someone who meets a nursing-facility level of care.

2
Step 2

How will it be paid for?

Memory care means budgeting private funds unless your parent qualifies for a waiver; a nursing home means working out Indiana Medicaid eligibility. Indiana's asset limit is $2,000 for a single applicant, and a spouse who stays at home can keep half the couple's non-exempt assets up to $162,660, or at least $32,532, under the 2026 standards. If your parent's finances are near the limits, get advice before applying.

If your parent has advanced dementia, look hard at nursing homes with special Alzheimer's care units, which can combine skilled nursing and dementia-trained staff in one place.

Where to Get Help in Indiana

Indiana FSSA Division of Aging Explains Indiana's Medicaid long-term-care and home- and community-based programs, including PathWays for Aging. in.gov/fssa/da
Medicare Care Compare Compare Indiana nursing homes' inspection results and staffing ratings before you choose a facility. medicare.gov/care-compare
Indiana Long-Term Care Ombudsman Free, confidential help resolving quality-of-care concerns once a parent is placed in a nursing home or licensed assisted living facility. in.gov/ombudsman

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between memory care and a nursing home in Indiana?

Memory care is a specialized form of assisted living for people with dementia who don't need around-the-clock nursing; it generally adds supports such as specially trained staff or secured exits, though not every unit has them. In Indiana, a facility that runs a special dementia unit or program and markets dementia care must make a written disclosure of its staffing, training, and charges available to anyone seeking information on its dementia services. A nursing home, licensed in Indiana by the Department of Health's Division of Long-Term Care, adds full-time nursing care, 24 hours a day, for someone whose medical needs go beyond what memory care provides.,

Is a nursing home more expensive than memory care in Indiana?

On the survey medians, a semi-private nursing-home room runs about $8,942 a month in Indiana against about $5,639 for assisted living; both sit below the national medians. Memory care can cost extra on top of the room, so compare actual quotes and ask what each fee includes. The bigger difference is who pays: Indiana Medicaid covers nursing-facility care for those who meet its financial rules, while its help with assisted living comes through waivers such as PathWays for Aging, which requires a nursing-facility level of care.,

Does Indiana Medicaid pay for memory care or a nursing home?

Indiana Medicaid covers nursing-facility care for residents who meet the state's financial eligibility rules. For memory care in an assisted living community, its help comes through waivers: the PathWays for Aging Waiver provides assisted living to people 65 and older, and 60 to 64 with a disability, who meet a nursing-facility level of care, and CMS's list of what it provides does not name room and board. Ask whether a community's memory-care unit accepts the waiver.

Does Medicare pay for memory care or a nursing home in Indiana?

No, not for long-term care. Medicare covers only a short, post-acute skilled-nursing stay of up to 100 days, generally after a qualifying hospital stay of at least three days, and it pays nothing toward ongoing custodial care. Families rely on private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits, or Medicaid for the long-term cost.

When does dementia require a nursing home instead of memory care?

When dementia is accompanied by ongoing medical needs that call for full-time nursing care, 24 hours a day, beyond the help with daily tasks that memory care is built to give. A medically stable person with dementia is usually well served by memory care; advanced dementia with significant medical needs points to a nursing home, ideally one with a special Alzheimer's care unit.

Can a nursing home provide memory care in Indiana?

Yes. Some nursing homes have special Alzheimer's care units, often in a separate section of the building where staff have special training in dementia care, so a resident who needs both 24-hour nursing and dementia-specialized care can receive both in one setting. Before choosing one, check its inspection and staffing ratings on Medicare's Care Compare.

Learn More

Care TypesMemory Care vs. Nursing Home by StateMemory care vs. nursing home isn't about dementia, it's about skilled medical need. Compare cost, coverage, and regulation, then open your state's guide. Care TypesMemory Care in IndianaIndiana regulates memory care through a dementia-care disclosure law. See what the required form tells you, what memory care costs, and how to vet a place. Care TypesNursing Homes in IndianaNursing homes in Indiana in 2026: what a skilled nursing facility costs, how to check a facility's quality, and how Medicaid pays for long-term care. Care TypesAssisted Living in IndianaAssisted living in Indiana runs about $5,639 a month, 35th highest among the states. What it costs, who regulates it, and how families pay for it. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care in IndianaAssisted living vs. memory care in Indiana: safety drives the choice. Assisted living runs about $5,639 a month; ask memory care units for itemized fees. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Nursing Home in IndianaAssisted living vs. a nursing home in Indiana comes down to level of care and who pays. Compare costs, when each fits, and what Indiana Medicaid covers. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in IndianaWhat senior care costs in Indiana in 2026: in-home care runs about $35 an hour, and Indiana sits below national medians for assisted living and nursing care.

Find personalized help comparing memory care and a nursing home in Indiana at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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