Assisted Living in New Mexico

Assisted living in New Mexico offers seniors a supportive, maintenance-free lifestyle as they age. Located throughout the Land of Enchantment, these communities provide assistance with activities of daily living, nutritious meals, and a variety of amenities. The average cost of assisted living in New Mexico is about $4,300 a month or $51,600 annually, according to A Place for Mom’s most recent proprietary data.^[01] At this price point, assisted living in New Mexico costs nearly $900 less per month than the national average, making it less expensive than many states in the U.S.

The average monthly cost of assisted living in New Mexico is approximately $4,300, which is significantly less expensive than the national average monthly cost of assisted living, around $5,100 a month. These numbers reflect the average final monthly costs paid by families living in A Place for Mom’s network of partner communities.

Costs in New Mexico typically range from around $3,100 to just under $6,000 a month.^[01] Communities in large metropolitan areas, like Albuquerque, or luxury locales, like Taos, generally cost more than facilities in smaller or more rural locations. Other factors, like the floorplan your loved one chooses, the amount of support they need, and the services and amenities a community provides can also affect pricing.

In New Mexico, an assisted living facility can have a minimum of only two residents and may be in either a designated building or in a converted residential home. Smaller personal care homes often cost less than larger assisted living facilities.

The monthly cost figures provided by A Place for Mom’s New Mexico partner communities generally cover a senior’s complete care needs, including:

• Assistance with at least activity of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, and personal grooming
• Regular supervision and monitoring
• Three nutritious meals a day, plus snacks
• Housekeeping services
• Assistance with personal medication management
• Planned social events and scheduled activities

Medicare, Medicaid, and other public pay resources may offset some costs of medical care in assisted living for New Mexico seniors who qualify.

Your family has its own unique budget and needs, but no matter your financial situation, planning ahead for assisted living can help ensure your loved one has access to all available resources. If your aging relative hasn’t signed up for Medicare, or if they plan to apply for public assistance programs, they may encounter application or waiting periods, so the sooner you start to consider your options, the better.

You’ll find a variety of ways seniors can cover assisted living costs in New Mexico below. For a high-level review of payment resources for seniors, you can read through ourcomplete guide to paying for long-term care.

Assisted living facilities in New Mexico are designed to provide support and stimulation to older adults who need help with at least one activity of daily living. Each community must house at least two residents unrelated to the owner, provide three nutritious meals a day, and be able to support the care needs of admitted residents.

Licensing and inspection requirements for New Mexico assisted living facilities

The New Mexico Department of Health, Division of Health Improvement, Health Facility Licensing and Certification Bureau, licenses and regulates assisted living facilities. Communities must be inspected annually.^[03]

The following considerations are made when licensing and regulating assisted living in New Mexico:

• Resident assessments: All residents are assessed to determine personal health care needs. Residents who require 24-hour skilled nursing care can’t be accepted. A facility can discharge residents if they’re no longer able to meet their needs, or if the resident becomes a danger to the health or safety of other individuals.
• Medication management requirements: Residents can self-administer medications with physician approval. Otherwise, staff members who’ve completed a state-approved program in medication assistance can help with self-administration. Facilities must have a consulting pharmacist who reviews medications at least quarterly.
• Safety standards: Communities must comply with state fire safety regulations.
• Occupancy: New Mexico doesn’t require apartment-style accommodations in assisted living. Rooms can be single or double occupancy, and at least one full bathroom must be available per eight residents.

Staffing requirements for New Mexico assisted living facilities

Staffing requirements may vary by the size of facility, care provided, and number of residents present.

The following roles must be filled in each community:

• Administrator: A staff member in charge of the daily operations of the assisted living facility
• Direct care staff: Trained staff who offer personal care and supervision
• On- or off-site nurses: Licensed physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, or registered nurses must be available to review care plans and health evaluations

Staff-to-resident ratios must fulfill these requirements:

• One direct care worker for every 15 residents or fewer
• One direct care worker and one additional staff member per 16 to 60 residents
• Two direct care workers and one additional staff member per 61 to 120 residents
• At least three direct care workers and one additional staff member for more than 120 residents

Understanding New Mexico’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 New Mexico assisted living records: Basic

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

• New Mexico is among the states that require assisted living inspections at least once each year.
• At the time of this writing, New Mexico’s database has not been updated in over a year.

How to look up New Mexico assisted living licenses and records

• Visit New Mexico’s Provider Search Form for info on licensed communities and their backgrounds.
• Select “assisted living facility” as the provider type.
• You can narrow your search by county or city.
• For more recent information about specific communities, contact the office of the long-term care ombudsman to see if he or she can provide information about a community you are exploring.
• Visit www.eldercare.gov to locate the appropriate long-term-care ombudsman.
• 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 New Mexico rating

We developed a standard methodology for state data collection and evaluation, and we 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? No
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? No
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? No
8. Is information about special licensing for care shown? No
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 12 months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No