Assisted Living in Maine

The median monthly cost of assisted living in Maine is approximately $5,400, which is slightly more expensive than the national median monthly cost of assisted living ($4,807), according to A Place for Mom’s internal data from its brand partners.

It’s a good idea to look at median costs instead of average costs, because median costs normally aren’t influenced by extreme values, such as high-end luxury communities or budget-conscious communities. In Maine, the lower 10th percentile monthly cost is approximately $3,700, while the 90th percentile monthly cost is around $8,300 per month.

When comparing assisted living communities, you’ll notice that the cost of assisted living varies. Generally, pricing takes into account the level of care required by a resident. Other factors may include the following:

• A community’s location
• Floor plans
• Additional services
• A community’s amenities

In Maine, communities located in major metros tend to be more expensive than those in smaller cities and towns. While costs may seem expensive, some of Maine’s seniors may qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. These public health care programs can cut some costs of assisted living by covering some qualified care services in the senior community.

Planning ahead can help your loved one be prepared when it’s time for assisted living. Your loved one may be able to use a combination of private and public pay options to cover assisted living costs. In the section below, you’ll find a variety of ways seniors pay for assisted living costs in Maine. You can also learn more about payment resources for seniors by visiting our complete guide to paying for long-term care.

The DHHS provides licensure and oversight for assisted living facilities in Maine. To be licensed, facilities generally have to meet state requirements outlined in Maine’s Assisted Living Rules and Regulations. DHHS typically conducts inspections of assisted living facilities, but the records of inspections aren’t publicly available at this time.

DHHS’s regulations outline the rights of residents of assisted living communities in Maine. These rights, as outlined in the document above, include but are not limited to the following:

• The right of the resident to communicate grievances and recommend changes
• The right of the resident to manage their own financial affairs
• The right of the resident to privacy and consideration
• The right of the resident to communicate privately with anyone that the resident chooses
• The right of the resident to appeal an involuntary transfer or discharge

These same regulations outline who can be an administrator at an assisted living facility. Administrators typically must meet the following requirements:

• Age 21 or older
• Management and supervisory experience
• Experience in the health care field, social services, or related areas

Regulations on caregiver qualifications are limited in Maine. It may be ideal to ask your prospective communities how they train their staff, what type of certifications staff members hold, and how they handle continuing education opportunities for staff.

State licensing in Maine

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 Maine assisted living records: Moderate

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Maine is moderate. Here are some key findings that informed this rating:

• Maine has a good search form for finding licensed communities and information about them, but the state was marked down significantly because it doesn’t make information about inspections and violations available online.
• Maine conducts inspections of communities on at least an annual basis.

This state of Maine provides moderate access to assisted living records and licensing.

How to look up Maine assisted living licenses and records

• Visit Maine’s Regulatory Licensing and Permitting website to find a listing of licensed providers.
• You can also visit the U.S. Administration on Aging’s Eldercare Locator to locate the appropriate long-term-care ombudsman. The long-term care ombudsman can often provide specific information about local communities and their backgrounds.
• If you need to make a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get records, consider browsing the state-by-state resources from the National Freedom of Information Coalition (FOIC), which includes sample state-specific FOIA letters.

How we arrived at our Maine 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? Yes
2. If Yes to #1, is the information updated frequently? Yes
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 or N/A
6. If Yes to #2 and #4, is the enforcement information included in the same place as licensed communities? No or N/A
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? Yes
9. Is capacity shown? Yes
10. Payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? Yes
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? Yes
12. Can the state fine a facility? Yes
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every 24 months
14. Does the website includes pricing of facilities? No