How to Choose an Assisted Living Facility in Michigan

Before you tour an assisted living community in Michigan, there is one thing worth knowing: Michigan does not license "assisted living" as a category. The term is marketing. Facilities that provide personal care in a residential setting are licensed by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) as either an Adult Foster Care (AFC) home or a Home for the Aged (HFA). Knowing the difference matters for cost, regulation, and what Medicaid will pay.

Assisted living in Michigan costs roughly $69,000 to $69,816 a year, according to the two figures CareScout published from its 2025 Cost of Care Survey in March 2026. This guide maps the actual licensing categories, those 2026 costs, what the MI Choice Waiver and VA benefits can offset, and what to check before signing a contract.1

Michigan's Two Real License Categories

The State of Michigan does not license assisted or independent living facilities by that name. Instead, LARA's Bureau of Community and Health Systems requires either a Home for the Aged or an Adult Foster Care license when the level of care a facility provides meets the licensing requirements of one of those types.1

Adult Foster Care (AFC) Homes

Under Michigan's Adult Foster Care Facility Licensing Act, an AFC facility serves adults who are aged, mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or physically disabled and who need supervision on an ongoing basis but not continuous nursing care. AFC settings range in size from a family home for 3 to 6 adults, where the licensee lives in the home, to small group homes (up to 12 residents), large group homes (13 to 20), and congregate facilities (more than 20).6 Because Michigan does not license "assisted living" as one category, costs vary by facility.1

Homes for the Aged (HFA)

A Home for the Aged is a supervised personal-care facility for 21 or more unrelated, non-transient residents who are age 55 or older. A facility for 20 or fewer residents age 55 or older also counts as a Home for the Aged if it is operated as a distinct part of a licensed nursing home. Many of the larger "assisted living" communities and senior campuses in Michigan are technically Homes for the Aged.1

What Is Not Licensed

Independent living and 55+ apartments that provide only meals, housekeeping, and social activities (no personal care) are not licensed by LARA, because they do not provide licensable care. If a facility offers help with bathing, medications, or transfers, it needs an AFC or HFA license.

Assisted Living Costs in Michigan (2026)

Michigan assisted living is modestly more affordable than the national median. The figures below come from the CareScout 2025 Cost of Care Survey, released in March 2026. Costs are typically paid out of pocket unless a payer such as the MI Choice Waiver or VA Aid and Attendance offsets part of them.1

CareScout's data tables put Michigan's assisted living median at $5,818 per month ($69,816 a year), while its Michigan state release gives $69,000 a year. Either way, Michigan sits just below the national 2025 median of $6,200 per month. Because Michigan licenses these communities as AFC homes or Homes for the Aged rather than as one "assisted living" category, those figures reflect the market rather than a single licensed facility type, and what a given community charges can differ from the statewide median.1

Memory care is not surveyed separately by CareScout: its state tables cover six care types and memory care is not among them, so there is no CareScout memory-care median for Michigan. The nearest benchmark is CareScout's Michigan assisted living median, roughly $69,000 to $69,816 a year across its two publications, but that is an assisted-living figure, not a memory-care rate, so ask each memory-care community for its own pricing.7

How Medicaid Helps (and Doesn't)

Michigan Medicaid has no dedicated "assisted living waiver." Two Medicaid routes can still help with care costs: a personal care supplement paid to licensed AFC homes and HFAs, and the MI Choice Waiver's home- and community-based services. For the full payment playbook (Medicaid, VA benefits, long-term care insurance, and private-pay strategies side by side), see our guide on how to pay for assisted living in Michigan.

The Medicaid Personal Care Supplement

A resident of a licensed AFC home or HFA who is a Medicaid recipient or eligible for Medicaid may qualify for a Medicaid personal care supplement of $250.92 per month. MDHHS pays it directly to the home, not to the resident, for help with bathing, grooming, dressing, mobility, transferring, toileting, and medication administration. It does not cover room and board, so the resident needs income such as SSI to pay that part. There is no list of homes that take Medicaid residents: AFC homes and HFAs are private businesses that decide individually whether to accept them, so ask each home directly.2

The MI Choice Waiver

The MI Choice Waiver is Michigan's 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services waiver, operated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). If a person qualifies, it can pay for home- and community-based care services such as community living supports (help with bathing, dressing, eating, and other daily activities) and supports coordination.3 Whether a waiver agency will provide MI Choice services to someone living in an AFC home or HFA is worth asking the agency directly. To qualify, an applicant must meet Michigan's nursing facility level of care (determined through the online Level of Care Determination in CHAMPS) and need at least two waiver services, one of which must be supports coordination. The approved waiver application bounds that test by frequency as well as count: those waiver services must be provided at least monthly, or, where the need is less than monthly, the participant must receive regular monthly monitoring documented in the service plan.4

Financially, MI Choice uses Michigan's long-term-care Medicaid limits: in 2026, a single applicant's income limit is $2,982 per month, and the limit on countable assets is $9,950 for a single applicant or $14,910 for a couple.8

MI Choice does not pay for room and board. The resident pays that from their own income (such as Social Security or a pension), often supplemented by family contributions or VA Aid and Attendance.

MI Choice is not an open entitlement. Capacity is capped each fiscal year and allocated in a set number of slots per waiver agency, so whenever demand exceeds capacity, screened applicants are placed on a waiting list ordered by priority and then by request date. That ranking is not a promise of enrollment order: the approved waiver application states that because of unique circumstances pertaining to each applicant, actual enrollment may vary from an individual's waiting list ranking. Plan for a possible wait rather than assuming immediate enrollment.4

What Medicaid Does Not Cover

• Private-pay "assisted living" (independent living plus meals plus minimal care).
• Facilities not licensed as AFC or HFA.
• Room and board, even when care services are covered.
• Luxury amenities, private care aides, and concierge services.

How VA Aid and Attendance Helps Pay

For qualifying veterans and surviving spouses, VA Aid and Attendance (A&A) is a pension that tops up countable income to a ceiling the VA calls the Maximum Annual Pension Rate. The VA publishes these as maximum annual amounts (effective December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2026). The pension is paid monthly: the VA subtracts countable income from the maximum and divides the remainder by 12. The 2026 Aid and Attendance maximums are:

• $29,093 a year for a veteran with no dependents
• $34,488 a year for a veteran with one dependent
• $18,697 a year for a surviving spouse with no dependent child ($22,304 with one dependent child)5

Social Security and other income count against that maximum, but non-reimbursable medical expenses above 5% of the maximum can reduce countable income, so the benefit can still offset a meaningful share of Michigan assisted living costs, which CareScout puts at roughly $69,000 to $69,816 a year. A surviving spouse with no dependent child and no countable income, for example, could receive the full $18,697 a year, paid in monthly installments, toward a facility bill, narrowing the gap between fixed income and the cost of care.5,1

See the Michigan VA Aid and Attendance guide for eligibility and application steps.

Long-Term Care Insurance

A long-term-care insurance policy purchased before a care need arose can help pay toward assisted living. How much it pays depends on the policy:

• Traditional LTC insurance pays a set daily or monthly amount directly.
• Hybrid life or LTC insurance pays an accelerated death payout when care is needed.
• Short-term care insurance pays for a limited period.

Check the policy's daily payout, waiting period, and inflation rider, and file the claim as soon as care begins, because payouts rarely apply retroactively.

Choosing an Assisted Living Facility in Michigan

AFC and HFA quality varies enormously. Many of the same questions apply as with nursing homes, plus some specific to residential care.

Before the Tour

• Pull the LARA facility record. Search AFC homes at adultfostercare.apps.lara.state.mi.us, and look up either license type through LARA's Bureau of Community and Health Systems.
• License status: Is it current? Any provisional license or enforcement action?
• Ownership history: How long has the facility been under current ownership?

During the Tour

Most of the same signals as nursing home tours apply, including sensory checks (is there an odor?), staff behavior, and resident engagement. Some questions specific to residential care:

• Staffing by shift. Ask how many caregivers are on duty during the day and overnight, and how many residents each one covers.
• Medication management. Who administers medications? Is the facility certified for medication passes by a nurse?
• Levels of care. Does the facility offer multiple care levels, and what does a transition between them cost?
• Discharge policies. What happens if a resident's needs grow beyond what the home can meet? An AFC home must give a 30-day written notice stating the reasons before a discharge, and can discharge sooner only in documented situations such as a substantial risk that it cannot meet the resident's needs.9
• Pet and visitor policies.
• Activities and programming.

Red Flags

• Recent LARA enforcement action or a provisional license.
• High staff turnover (ask directly).
• Heavy use of agency or temporary staff.
• Part of a chain with multiple recent sales.
• Vague answers about medication management or what happens when care needs increase.
• Pressure to sign immediately or pre-pay a large deposit.

Green Flags

• Consistent, tenured staff, especially the director.
• A clean LARA record over multiple years.
• A clear explanation of care levels and transitions.
• Warm staff-resident relationships you can observe.
• Residents who look cared-for, not neglected.
• A family or resident council that meets regularly.

Where to Check a Facility and Get Help

Common Misconceptions

"Assisted living is less regulated than nursing homes in Michigan." It is regulated differently, not left unregulated. AFC homes and HFAs must meet Michigan's minimum licensing standards, LARA licensing staff inspect them and investigate complaints, and homes for seven or more residents also get fire-safety inspections.11 The Long-Term Care Ombudsman is available to residents as well.10

"Medicaid will not pay for assisted living in Michigan." Medicaid can help with the care portion. A Medicaid-eligible resident of a licensed AFC home or HFA may qualify for a personal care supplement paid directly to the home, and it does not pay room and board.2 The MI Choice Waiver covers home- and community-based care services for those who qualify, and it does not pay room and board either.3

"An AFC home is just a family home, so my parent will not like it." Not necessarily. Smaller AFC homes are often residential in style, with a handful of residents and more personal attention than a large facility. Whether it fits depends on the individual's personality and care needs.

"I need to sell my house to pay for assisted living." Not usually. Michigan's Medicaid asset test excludes the homestead, and a home the owner has left stays excluded if the owner intends to return or lives in an adult foster care home or a home for the aged. The $752,000 home equity limit does not apply when a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child lives in the home.8

"Memory care is its own license." Don't assume it. A Michigan community providing personal care is licensed by LARA as an Adult Foster Care home or a Home for the Aged when its level of care requires a license, so ask any memory-care community which license it holds and what dementia training its staff have.1

Related Terms

• HCBS waiver: MI Choice is Michigan's home- and community-based services waiver for people who meet nursing facility level of care.4
• Nursing Facility Level of Care (NFLOC): Required for MI Choice.
• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): The functional basis for both MI Choice and AFC/HFA care planning.

Learn More

Find personalized help choosing senior care options 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.