Assisted Living in Hawaii

Assisted living is a good option for seniors who need assistance with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, or medication management. The monthly average cost of assisted living in Hawaii is around $6,100, which adds up to about $73,200 per year.^[01] Assisted living in Hawaii is more expensive than independent living communities for seniors, but it’s less expensive than memory care communities.

Across A Place for Mom’s partner communities, the cost of assisted living in Hawaii ranges from $5,400 to $7,960 per month. This is a bit higher than the national average, which is $5,126 per month.^[01] These proprietary figures reflect the actual costs paid by seniors and their families upon moving into our partner facilities in Hawaii.

The cost of assisted living in Hawaii is higher than the average cost in the U.S. due in part to the state’s high cost of living. Hawaii is ranked as the most expensive state in the U.S. to live in.^[02]

Several other factors can affect the monthly cost of assisted living:

• The community’s pricing model
• The level of care your loved one needs
• Room size and layout
• Extra amenities, such as higher-end finishes in units

Many seniors rely on a mix of the different payment options available to them, and they may use Medicare or Medicaid to help pay for the medically necessary care aspects of assisted living.

Seniors can use several income sources and public assistance to help pay for assisted living. Some may have planned ahead for their care by purchasing a long-term care insurance policy, or by gathering the documents they’ll need to apply for public assistance.

Planning for assisted living is particularly important, as some public assistance programs have a waiting period before your loved one can receive long-term care benefits. Whether your loved one has already planned for assisted living or you’re helping them start now, you’ll find helpful tips on common payment methods in this section. You can also find more in our guide to paying for long-term care.

Hawaii assisted living facilities must be licensed through the Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Assurance (OHCA). While assisted living communities don’t have any specific limitations on resident admissions, they must be able to meet the needs of new residents and provide regular care assessments. Communities are also required to provide 24-hour care and assist residents with all their activities of daily living.^[03]

Once an assisted living facility is licensed, they’re subject to regular inspections. If a community has a violation, they must make a plan to correct it and add information to the report. While most communities are inspected at least once a year, some are licensed for a period of two years.^[04]

Ranking Hawaii’s system of regulation and records

We developed a system to rate each state on how easy — or difficult — it is to find important assisted living records and reports, and we 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 Hawaii assisted living records: High

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Hawaii is high. Key findings that informed this rating include:

• Hawaii inspects assisted living communities at least twice annually.
• Hawaii has generally transparent records but was marked down because license information is listed separately from inspections and enforcement actions aren’t included with licensing information.

How to look up Hawaii assisted living licenses and records

• To locate licensed communities, use Hawaii’s State Licensing Section.
• Use the state’s Inspections Reports site for viewing inspection reports.

How we arrived at our Hawaii rating

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? Yes
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)? No
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 and inspections searchable at all? Yes
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? Yes
9. Is capacity shown? Yes
10. Are payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? No
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? Yes
12. Can the state fine a facility? Yes
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every six months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No