Assisted Living in District Of Columbia

Assisted living in Washington, D.C. combines housing, health, and supportive services to support aging in place for residents. The average price of assisted living in the district is about $8,200 per month or $98,400 annually, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data. Assisted living in the district is more expensive than independent living, but more affordable than memory care.

The approximate monthly cost of assisted living in Washington, D.C. ranges between $5,200 and $11,500 per month, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data. This monthly range is based on what families actually paid at assisted living communities in our Washington, D.C. partner network. These prices include room and board costs, along with the cost of care and amenities. As one of the wealthiest areas in the nation, the district tends to have more expensive assisted living options when compared to the national average, which sits at around $5,100.

Our provided cost range typically covers carefully crafted care plans, spectacular meal services, robust wellness programs, and lavish amenities, such as swimming pools, movie theaters, and much more. Several factors like location, floor plan, and add-on services (like pet fees, salon services, etc.) also affect cost. The price may seem a bit daunting at first, but there are several payment options — like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security benefits — that can help reduce costs.

Seniors and their families have several payment options to help cover assisted living expenses in Washington, D.C. When families start to consider payment options, they typically start with private pay sources like savings accounts and retirement pensions. However, seniors may also qualify for public assistance programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

Most families use a mixture of private and public payment methods to help cover assisted living costs. For a summary of potential payment options, you can take a look at our guide to paying for long-term care.

In Washington D.C., assisted living facilities are commonly referred to as assisted living residences (or ALRs). These ALRs must be licensed by DC Health and they must follow certain assisted living residence regulations and laws. Each facility faces an inspection at the time of licensure and six months after licensure. Thereafter, inspections are typically conducted on an annual basis when licenses are renewed.

Assisted living residence inspections survey for compliance in the following:

• Capacity
• Staffing standards
• Individualized care plan development
• Medication storage and administration practices
• Health and safety standards
• Environmental standards

If an assisted living facility has any violations, they’ll be provided with a written notice. If deficiencies are not corrected within 30 days or the allotted timeframe, facilities are subject to losing their license.

You can find the most recent assisted living survey reports on the DC Health website.

Licensing for assisted living in Washington, D.C.

We developed a system to rate each state on how easy — or difficult — it is to find important assisted living records and reports, and compiled tips to help you in your search.

States with the most transparent records allow you to look up important information about each assisted living facility online, including inspections, complaints, survey results, violations, capacity, and whether the facility accepts Medicaid.

Access to Washington, D.C. assisted living records: Moderate

Public access to assisted living records and reports for Washington, D.C. is moderate. Key findings that informed this rating include:

• A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request must be submitted in order to find out the backgrounds of some providers. Other survey reports may be found online.
• Washington, D.C. doesn’t have a searchable database of licensed assisted living communities, but they have a PDF that gives information on licensed assisted living communities.

How to look up Washington, D.C. assisted living licenses and records

• Visit the DC Health Assisted Living Residences page to access a PDF listing of licensed assisted living facilities in Washington, D.C.
• Visit the DC Health Assisted Living Survey Reports page to find survey reports for assisted living facilities. If you cannot find reports for a specific community, contact the D.C. Department of Health directly to find out about the backgrounds of providers.
• If you need to make a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get records, consider browsing these state-by-state resources from the National Freedom of Information Coalition, which included sample state-specific FOIA letters.

How we arrived at our Washington, D.C. rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and based our rating primarily on the objective, state-specific accessibility criteria outlined in these questions:

1. Are licensed assisted living communities listed online in any form? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? No
3. If Yes to #1, is the list of licensed communities searchable? No
4. Does the state post inspections, complaints, survey results, or violations online? Yes
5. If Yes to #4, is the information updated frequently? [within 90 days] Yes
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? No
7. If Yes to #4 and No to #6, are violations/inspections searchable at all? Yes or N/A
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? No or N/A
9. Capacity shown? Yes
10. Payment types shown, [e.g. Medicaid, private pay]? No
11. Administrator / Contact name shown? Yes
12. State may fine facility? Yes
13. Frequency of inspections? Every 12 months
14. Website includes pricing of facility? No