If you are working out how to pay for assisted living in Maryland and wondering how your family will cover the bill month after month, you are not alone.

Assisted living in Maryland runs about $7,172 a month in 2026. Most of it is private-pay, but two public programs help: the state's SOAR program and Maryland Medicaid's Community Options Waiver. Below, each source of money, from savings and long-term care insurance to VA benefits and those two programs, is laid out plainly so you can build a realistic plan and know which months each one covers.

In This Guide

What Assisted Living Costs in Maryland

The first thing that helps is knowing the real number you are planning against. In 2026, assisted living in Maryland runs about $7,172 a month (roughly $86,070 a year), above the national median of about $74,400 a year, based on the CareScout (formerly Genworth) 2025 Cost of Care Survey released in March 2026. These are industry-survey medians, not government figures, and CareScout collects its rates by metropolitan area, so what you are quoted depends on where in Maryland you look. Ask whether memory care or a higher care level is priced on top of the base rate.

Here is how assisted living sits next to the other Maryland care settings in the same survey, so you can see what a move up or down in care would cost:

Care setting (Maryland, 2026) Monthly median Annual median
Assisted living about $7,172 about $86,070
Non-medical caregiver (in-home, ~44 hrs/wk) about $6,673 about $80,080
Nursing home, semi-private room about $12,927 about $155,125
Nursing home, private room about $14,448 about $173,375

Treat the median as a planning anchor, not a quote. Ask each assisted living program for an all-in monthly price that separates the base rent from the care-level add-ons, because that monthly number is the starting point for everything below.

Private Pay: How Most Families Pay for Assisted Living in Maryland

Most assisted living in Maryland is private-pay, so there is no shame in that being the plan; it is the plan for most families. The common sources to draw on are:

  • Income: Social Security, pensions, and retirement-account withdrawals are the steadiest base.
  • Savings and investments: drawn down on a planned schedule so you know how many months or years they will cover at about $7,172 a month.
  • The family home: selling the home, or borrowing against it through a home-equity line or a reverse mortgage, can free up money for care. One caution: Maryland's Community Options Waiver caps countable assets at $2,000 or $2,500, depending on eligibility category, so if Medicaid may be needed later, get advice on how a home-sale or loan lump sum would count before you settle the timing.
  • Annuities and life-insurance conversions: some families convert a life-insurance policy to a long-term-care benefit or use an annuity to turn a lump sum into predictable monthly income.
  • Bridge loans: a short-term loan can cover the gap between move-in and the month a home sells or a benefit is approved, then gets repaid from those proceeds.

Build a written timeline of how long private funds will last. Knowing the month at which savings would run low is what makes it possible to apply for the Community Options Waiver in time, rather than in a crisis.

Long-Term Care Insurance

If your parent bought a long-term care insurance policy years ago, it may cover part of the assisted living bill, and it is worth digging the policy out even if no one has looked at it in a decade. Long-term care insurance is private coverage for the personal and custodial care that health insurance is not designed to cover, in settings such as the home, a community organization, or another facility, so whether a given policy pays for assisted living depends on its own terms. Read it for three things: the daily or monthly benefit amount, the elimination period, and which care settings it covers.

The elimination period is the time that must pass after a benefit trigger occurs before the policy starts paying for services. Most policies let the buyer choose 30, 60, or 90 days at purchase, your parent pays for any services received during that stretch, and some policies count only paid care toward it, so unpaid family help may not satisfy it. The trigger itself is not self-declared: most policies pay when someone needs help with two or more of six activities of daily living or has a cognitive impairment, and the insurer decides that through its own nurse or social-worker assessment. Contact the insurer as soon as care needs begin so that assessment can be scheduled.

VA Aid and Attendance

If your parent or their spouse served in wartime, VA Aid and Attendance is worth checking early, because it can add real, recurring money to the assisted living plan. It is a federal add-on to the VA pension for a veteran or surviving spouse who needs help with daily activities. Because it is federal, the amounts are set nationally rather than by Maryland.

In 2026 (rates effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026), the maximum Aid and Attendance pension is $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents, $34,488 a year for a veteran with one dependent, and $18,697 a year for a surviving spouse. These are maximums, not payments: VA pays the difference between the maximum and your parent's countable income, divided by 12 for the monthly check, so at most about $2,424, $2,874, and $1,558 a month. Unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of the maximum can be deducted from countable income, which raises the payment. That income can be applied directly to the assisted living bill.

To qualify, a veteran generally needs at least 90 days of active duty with at least one day during a wartime period (or, for those who entered service after September 7, 1980, generally at least 24 months), must be age 65 or older or meet another listed condition such as a permanent and total disability, must meet at least one aid-and-attendance need, such as needing another person's help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, or feeding, and must have a net worth under $163,699 for 2026. VA counts both assets and annual income toward net worth, but excludes the home your parent lives in, a car, and basic household items, so a paid-off house does not by itself put someone over the limit. A 36-month look-back applies to assets given away below fair value, so do not transfer assets to qualify without advice.

To apply, a veteran files an Application for Pension (VA Form 21P-527EZ) and a surviving spouse files VA Form 21P-534EZ. Add VA Form 21-2680, which a medical examiner fills out to document the need for help; you can apply online at va.gov, by mail, or in person at a VA regional office, and an accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative can help you file. If you are still gathering paperwork, an intent to file (VA Form 21-0966) can lock in an earlier potential start date, and you can submit one online or by calling VA at 800-827-1000. It is worth applying even if you are unsure your parent qualifies.

SOAR: Maryland State Help

Maryland has its own state-funded help that sits between private pay and Medicaid. Supporting Older Adults with Resources (SOAR), administered by the Maryland Department of Aging, provides partial financial support for assisted living monthly fees for Marylanders age 62 and older who make less than 60% of the state median income, have assets below its eligibility thresholds, and need help with activities of daily living. In 2026, three existing state-funded programs run by the Department of Aging were consolidated into SOAR. Because the support is partial, your family still pays part of the monthly fee, but for a family with limited income and assets, SOAR can help make the bill manageable.

Medicaid and the Community Options Waiver

The hardest part for many families is realizing that Medicaid will not simply "cover assisted living," and it is better to know that now than to discover it the month savings run out. Maryland Medicaid (Medical Assistance) does not pay the room-and-board cost of assisted living: federal law lets Medicaid home and community-based waivers pay for services "other than room and board," so a waiver can cover the personal care and support an assisted living resident receives while the resident pays for housing and meals. In Maryland that waiver is the Community Options Waiver (the Home and Community-Based Options Waiver), which helps a person get services in their home and community instead of in an institution and lists assisted living services among its waiver services. There is a waitlist, though a person in a nursing facility whose care Medicaid has paid for at least 30 days can apply with no wait, so it is best to get in line before it is urgent.

To qualify, a person must need a nursing-facility level of care, be 18 or older, and live at home or in the community. For waiver coverage in 2026, monthly income may not exceed 300% of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) federal benefit rate (about $2,982 a month for an individual), and countable assets may not be more than $2,000 or $2,500, depending on eligibility category.

If Medicaid denies your parent because their income is too high, Maryland says they may be eligible for the Increased Community Services Program instead. Maryland regulation also allows spend-down, in which an applicant over the income standard becomes eligible by deducting incurred medical expenses from excess income; Maryland's medically needy income standard for one person is $350 a month in 2026. A community spouse who stays at home is protected by spousal-impoverishment rules, which in 2026 let the at-home spouse keep up to $162,660 in countable assets. Maryland looks back 60 months for assets given away for less than fair market value, and such a transfer can start a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for nursing facility or waiver services, so getting advice before applying can prevent costly missteps.

To start, call Maryland Access Point (MAP) at 844-627-5465 to join the Community Options Waiver Registry, then apply when you are invited. Maryland Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports has program details at health.maryland.gov.

How to Pay for Assisted Living in Maryland: Putting It Together

Here is how the sources stack against the roughly $7,172 monthly bill. Picture a wartime veteran with Social Security and a small pension: VA pension with Aid and Attendance pays the gap between the $29,093 maximum and that countable income, so the income lowers the VA check, while unreimbursed medical expenses above 5% of the maximum can be deducted and raise it again, up to about $2,424 a month (the maximum divided by 12). One way to layer it: private income and savings cover the early months, VA Aid and Attendance or long-term care insurance fills part of the gap for those who qualify, SOAR can help if income is limited, and the Community Options Waiver becomes the backstop for care services once income and assets are low enough.

The key planning move is to map out, in advance, how long private funds last and when to apply for the waiver, so you are choosing on your own timeline rather than in a crisis.

Your next step Map out how long private funds will last, then call Maryland Access Point at 844-627-5465 to join the registry for the Community Options Waiver. Then contact the Maryland Department of Aging about SOAR, and a VA-accredited representative about VA Aid and Attendance if a veteran is in the household.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Medicaid pay for assisted living in Maryland?

Not the room and board: federal law lets Medicaid waivers pay for services other than room and board, so the resident covers housing and meals in assisted living. Maryland's Community Options Waiver does list assisted living services among its waiver services for people who need a nursing-facility level of care.

How much does assisted living cost in Maryland?

About $7,172 a month in 2026 (roughly $86,070 a year), above the national median of $6,200 a month, according to CareScout's survey, which collects rates by metropolitan area. Ask whether higher care levels or memory care cost extra.

How much is VA Aid and Attendance for assisted living in Maryland?

In 2026, the maximum Aid and Attendance pension is $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents, $34,488 for a veteran with one dependent, and $18,697 for a surviving spouse; divided by 12, that is at most about $2,424, $2,874, and $1,558 a month. VA pays the maximum minus countable income, so the actual check is lower when your parent has countable income. The amounts are federal, and the income can be applied to assisted living.

How do I qualify for the Community Options Waiver in Maryland?

Need a nursing-facility level of care, be 18 or older and living at home or in the community, and meet the financial rules: in 2026, income no more than 300% of the SSI rate, about $2,982 a month, and countable assets no more than $2,000 or $2,500, depending on eligibility category. There is a waitlist, so call Maryland Access Point at 844-627-5465 to join the registry and apply when invited.

Will long-term care insurance cover assisted living?

It depends on the policy. Long-term care insurance covers personal and custodial care in settings such as the home, a community organization, or another facility, so check whether your parent's policy covers assisted living, its benefit amount, and its elimination period: the time that must pass after a benefit trigger occurs before payments begin, which most policies let the buyer set at 30, 60, or 90 days at purchase. Contact the insurer as soon as care needs begin.

Learn More

Care TypesHow to Pay for Assisted Living by StateHow to pay for assisted living by state: Medicaid programs, state help and room-and-board rules all differ. See real examples, then open your state's guide. Care TypesAssisted Living in MarylandAssisted living in Maryland runs about $7,172/month. What an Assisted Living Program is, who licenses it, what it costs, and how Medicaid and SOAR can help. Care TypesCost of Senior Care in MarylandWhat senior care costs in Maryland in 2026: assisted living runs about $7,172 a month, a nursing home about $155,125 a year. See every setting and how to pay. Care TypesMemory Care in MarylandMemory care in Maryland is an Assisted Living Program's Alzheimer's Special Care Unit. See the disclosure form, what it costs, and how to vet a place. Care TypesNursing Homes in MarylandNursing homes in Maryland in 2026: what a skilled nursing facility costs, how to check a facility's quality, and how Maryland Medicaid pays for long-term care. Care TypesAssisted Living vs. Memory Care in MarylandAssisted living vs. memory care in Maryland: safety and cognition drive the choice. Maryland assisted living runs about $7,172 a month; memory care costs more. Care TypesMemory Care vs. Nursing Home in MarylandMemory care vs. nursing home in Maryland: how skilled-nursing need and who pays differ. Memory care is private-pay; a nursing home runs about $12,927 a month.

Find personalized help paying for assisted living in Maryland 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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