The median monthly cost of assisted living in Montana is around $5,000, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data from its brand partners. This figure is about on par with the national median monthly cost of assisted living across the country at $4,807.
When looking at the cost of senior living, it’s a good idea to look at median costs instead of average costs. This is because median costs normally aren’t influenced by extreme values, such as luxury communities with tons of amenities or simple, budget-friendly communities. That said, prices vary in Montana, with the lower 10th percentile monthly cost landing at approximately $3,100, while the 90th percentile monthly cost is around $7,500 per month.
The cost of assisted living varies depending on many factors. Typically, pricing also takes into account the level of care required by a resident. Other factors may include the following:
Assisted living communities in Montana tend to cost more in larger towns, such as Billings or Helena, than in smaller cities and surrounding rural areas. It may feel like sticker shock when looking at the prices of assisted living in Montana. But while these costs may seem expensive, some Montanans may qualify for Medicaid or Medicare to help pay for assisted living. These programs can reduce the cost of assisted living by covering some qualified care services for eligible participants.
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US National average
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It’s vital to plan ahead and be prepared for assisted living costs. Your loved one may be able to use both private and public pay options to cover long-term assisted living costs. In the sections below, you’ll learn about the different ways seniors typically pay for assisted living costs in Montana. You can discover even more about payment options for assisted living by visiting our complete guide to paying for long-term care.
Many seniors begin by using private pay options to cover the expenses of assisted living in Montana.
Your loved one can free up money to pay for assisted living by selling their home in Montana. Selling a house
As a homeowner in Montana, a senior may be able to access equity through a reserve mortgage to pay for assisted living. Reverse mortgage
Ask your loved one if they have a health savings account (HSA), because it may cover the cost of certain medically necessary care services in an assisted living community in Montana. Health savings accounts (HSAs)
Does your loved one have a life insurance policy? If so, there are ways for them to leverage it to cover their assisted living expenses in Montana. Life insurance
For Montana’s seniors, a long-term care insurance policy can potentially pay for at least some of their assisted living costs. Long-term care insurance
Social Security benefits may help Montana’s older adults cover their monthly assisted living costs. Social Security benefits for assisted living
It can be complicated and time consuming to navigate through VA resources. Many veterans, veteran spouses, surviving spouses, and other military-connected individuals don’t know that they may be eligible for generous VA benefits, which may help cover the cost of assisted living in Montana.
For Montana’s veteran families, it’s helpful to seek benefits counseling to learn more about what may be available to your loved one. Montana’s Department of Military Affairs supports veterans, surviving spouses, and their families through the Veteran’s Affairs Division. This government organization offers benefits counseling and general support to anyone wanting to learn more about VA benefits for Montana’s seniors. Notably, Montana also offers a crisis text line available 24/7 to assist veterans or family members who are experiencing a mental health crisis. You can access the crisis line by texting “MT” to 741-741.
The division has an administrative office conveniently located on Fort Harrison, the home of Montana National Guard’s Joint Forces Headquarters. The office is also located near the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center.
Montana has several U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs locations, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts, Disabled American Veterans (DAV) locations, and other veteran service organizations (VSOs). In Montana, these local organizations can provide veterans and their families with benefit support and application information. They can also help your loved one file or appeal benefit claims.
As a joint state and federal program, Montana Medicaid provides health care insurance to low-income Montanans. This program may also cover long-term care costs associated with assisted living for eligible individuals, such as:
Montana’s seniors can apply online for various Medicaid programs, like SNAP, TANF, LIHEAP, and Health Coverage Assistance through the Montana Medicaid application portal.
Montana Medicaid offers home- and community-based waiver programs, so a senior can receive care in the setting of their choice. The waiver expands what Medicaid pays for to cover costs associated with assisted living. These programs can enable participants to receive Medicaid-covered care services in their home or assisted living community.
If your loved one in Montana is considered aged, blind, or disabled, and eligible for Medicaid, there may be a specific Montana Medicaid waiver to help cover expenses associated with assisted living. Limited information is available online about these waivers. To learn more about what these waivers cover and how to apply, call the State of Montana’s Adult Mental Health, Prevention, and Grant Funded Programs at 1-406-444-3964. Seniors can also reach out to the Montana long-term care ombudsman program for more information.
The federal health care program Medicare covers certain health care costs for qualified individuals 65 or older. Unfortunately, Medicare doesn’t cover room and board costs for assisted living. However, it can pay necessary medical care expenses, as determined by a doctor and the Medicare program.
To access free and confidential Medicare benefit counseling, Montana seniors can contact the State of Montana’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program. For further assistance with assisted living resources, elder Montanans can reach out to the Montana long-term care ombudsman program for additional support.
My dad was a veteran and they were very good at recognizing and honoring veterans. I do wish the staff were a little more attenive. Overall it was a great facility.
My father has been at the Auberge for a year now. Our family is so happy with the facility and staff. Das loves his apartment the property itself and all the amenities. The food is good. The place is clean...
What we like the most about The Springs is that they have always had Grace with my uncle's personality. Friendly and helpful. Yes, we would absolutely recommend this community to other families! It is a...
My dad was a veteran and they were very good at recognizing and honoring veterans. I do wish the staff were a little more attenive. Overall it was a great facility.
I placed Mom there about a year ago. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. If she couldn't be home with me I'm glad she was there. The entire staff is amazing! The care, love and respect that...
My mother in law lived out her remaining life enjoying the time spent at MorningStar. She enjoyed the community lifestyle and friendships that we're formed there. In the last 10 months of her life she had...
My mom was briefly a resident at The Grandview at Benefis and everything was great for her there. She wasn't there long enough to get to try much of the food or to be involved in the activities. The...
I placed my mother in law at the Rainbow Senior Living and she loved it. The administration helped fill out all her proper paperwork to help set her up with medications, and medicaid. The meals provided...
My Grandma likes it here and we are more than happy with the staff. All of the staff members have a smile on their face and always seem so pleasant. We’ve never had any trouble finding someone to help us....
Our loved ones care was great while he was there. WE were very happy with everything and everyone. They were always great to work with and provided good care to the very end.
My friend was not probably the easiest resident, but they did an amazing job with him. When I was there and saw how they interacted with him and the other residents, they never lost temper or got snippy with...
Timber Creek Village was an amazing discovery for our family and we have been very pleased with the hospitality and care provided. It is a new assisted living community that is only two years old and it has...
What we like the most about The Springs is that they have always had Grace with my uncle's personality. Friendly and helpful. Yes, we would absolutely recommend this community to other families! It is a...
My loved one is currently a resident at Spring Creek Inn and everything about her experience has been great so far. The staff and care services are great. The friendliness, cleanliness and activities are...
Every staff member has been very helpful, cordial, and extremely prompt. When we have asked for assistance, someone is there in less than 5 minutes. The "culture climate" at Brookdale Springmeadows is...
The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) provides licensure and oversight for assisted living in Montana. Facilities typically have to meet state requirements outlined in Montana’s Assisted Living Rules and Regulations to be licensed in this state. DPHHS typically conducts inspections of assisted living facilities. You may be able to learn more about a specific community’s inspection report by contacting the Inspector General at 1-406-444-4120.
In Montana, these regulations outline the rights of residents of assisted living communities. These rights, as outlined in the document above, include but are not limited to the following:
These same regulations outline who qualifies to work at an assisted living facility and how they should be trained. As per the regulations, staff generally must meet the following requirements:
If you’re looking for specific qualifications in your loved one’s caregivers, you should ask prospective communities what type of certifications staff members hold and how they train their staff on an ongoing basis.
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.
Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Montana is high. A key finding that informed this rating is that Montana recently updated their state database to include detailed information about adult care providers.
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:
Overview of assisted living in MT
The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical, legal or financial advice or create a professional relationship between A Place for Mom and the reader. Always seek the advice of your health care provider, attorney or financial advisor with respect to any particular matter, and do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of anything you have read on this site. Links to third-party websites are only for the convenience of the reader; A Place for Mom does not endorse the contents of the third-party sites.
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