Alabama Residential Alzheimer’s Care (Memory Care): Laws, Costs & Financial Help

Legal Definition of Assisted Living / Memory Care in Alabama

Alabama defines an assisted living facility as an entity (including individuals) that provides residence and personal care to three or more individuals who need assistance with the Activities of Daily Living – mobility, bathing, dressing/grooming, eating, toileting. Memory care residences are officially called “specialty care assisted living facilities” in Alabama, and they are specially licensed and staffed to provide care for residents with cognitive impairments that would have prevented them from living in an assisted living facility.

Both types of Alabama assisted living communities provide room, board, supervision, healthcare oversight, medication assistance, housekeeping help, medical transportation, social activities and personal care assistance with the Activities of Daily Living. Residents are screened prior to admission to determine if the facility can meet their needs. The screening also helps to develop an individualized care plan for each resident. Both types of assisted living communities allow Alabama residents to contract with outside or third-party caregivers, including hospice workers, to provide services at the facility.

The Alabama Department of Public Health, Bureau of Health Provider Standards, licenses and organizes all assisted living facilities based on the number of residents:

• Family assisted living facilities are licensed to care for 2-3 adults and are often called “adult foster care.” This category is only for assisted living, not memory care, and family assisted living facilities must have been licensed before Oct. 1, 2015.
• Group assisted living facilities are licensed to care for 3-16 adults and are often called “board and care homes.”
• Congregate assisted living facilities are licensed to care for 17 or more adults and are often called “assisted living.”

There are almost 150 memory care residences in Alabama equipped to handle the needs of people with Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal, vascular, Lewy body, Parkinson’s and other forms of dementia. There are more than 80 board and care homes, many (but not all) offering memory care.

Alabama Assisted Living Laws & Regulations

Admissions Requirements & Process

All assisted living facility residents in Alabama must have a medical examination by a physician not more than 30 days before moving into the facility, and all residents will have a care plan developed by the facility.

To be admitted to memory care (known as specialty care assisted living in Alabama), two assessments must be completed for potential residents:

1. Physical Self Maintenance Scale (PSMS)
2. Behavior Screening Form

Residents must not have a PSMS score greater than 23 to be admitted to memory care, or a score of five in feeding, dressing, grooming and bathing, or a score of four or five in mobility. In addition, potential memory care residents in Alabama must not have unmanageable or dangerous behaviors, must not need skilled nursing or hospice care, must not have a wound that requires care beyond first aid, and must not be diagnosed with an acute and infectious pulmonary disease.

To be admitted to an assisted living facility (not memory care), potential residents must have the ability to make decisions related to personal safety, be able to direct their own care, manage their medication with assistance and safely reside in the facility without their egress being restricted. And they must not need skilled nursing or hospice care, not have behaviors dangerous to themselves or others, not have a wound that requires care beyond first aid, or not be diagnosed with an acute and infectious pulmonary disease.

Prior to or at the time of admission, the resident or their representatives will receive a copy of the financial agreement that includes the facility’s basic charge, a list of all services not covered by the basic charge and their cost, and how the agreement can be terminated by either party. Each individual will be informed of the resident’s rights prior to or at the time of admission. All of the facility’s policies and procedures will also be made available to the resident and/or their representatives, including continued stay criteria, discharge criteria, abuse and neglect policies, and resident confidentiality.

Staff & Training

Memory care residences in Alabama must have two staff members on duty 24 hours per day, seven days a week, and they must meet specified staffing ratios. In addition, they must have a medical director, at least one RN and a care coordinator. Assisted living facilities that are not memory care, on the other hand, have no staffing ratio requirements, and they are only required to have one administrator.

Eviction/Discharge Rules

An assisted living resident in Alabama can be evicted if their medical condition cannot be managed by the care facility for any reason, including cognitive impairment, and they will be discharged to a facility that can care for them. State regulations do not say that residents can be evicted for nonpayment, however, this is likely detailed in the financial contract the resident or their representatives agreed to and signed upon admission. Understanding this financial contract, as well as the move-in agreement, is key to understanding eviction rules in a specific facility.

Regulations do not say a residence must help individuals find a new, more appropriate home if eviction becomes necessary. For tips on evictions, including what to do if you receive an eviction notice, click here.

How Much Does Memory Care Cost in Alabama?

The cost of assisted living and memory care can vary depending on where in Alabama the residence is located. The table below lists the median monthly cost of both assisted living and memory care facilities in different areas of the state as of 2025. Individuals who are in the early to mid stages of dementia may be best suited for assisted living facilities, which are less expensive than memory care, while those with more severe symptoms or who are in the late stages of dementia will likely need memory care.

For context, the median cost of assisted living across the country in 2025 was $6,200/month, while it was $4,425/month in Alabama.

For help finding a living option to meet your family’s needs and budgets, click here.

Financial Assistance for Residential Alzheimer’s Memory Care

There are several sources of financial assistance for qualified Alabama seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias who reside in assisted living facilities or specialty care assisted living facilities. They include Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waivers, the Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE) program, Veterans Affairs (VA) pensions and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), as well as elder loans, tax credits and reverse mortgages.

Medicaid Long-Term Care

Alabama Medicaid will not cover the cost of assisted living facilities or specialty care assisted living facilities. However, Alabama Medicaid will cover long-term care services and supports for seniors in assisted living or memory care through the following programs:

Alabama Elderly & Disabled Waiver
Alabama’s Elderly & Disabled (E&D) Waiver will provide some long-term care benefits for Alabama seniors who require a Nursing Facility Level of Care (NFLOC) and live in an assisted living with two or fewer other adults who need care, which is also known as adult foster care in Alabama. E&D Waiver benefits include adult day care, meal delivery, housekeeping and personal care assistance with the Activities of Daily Living. If the adult foster care home is already providing any of these benefits, Medicaid won’t duplicate them, but it might add to existing care, like increasing the number of hours per week of personal care assistance. The state can assign a caregiver to provide E&D Waiver benefits, but beneficiaries also have the option to self-direct some of their care and hire family members as caregivers, including spouses.

As mentioned above, E&D Waiver applicants must require a NFLOC, which means they need the type of full-time care and supervision associated with nursing homes. A diagnosis of dementia does not guarantee a NFLOC designation, but many seniors with dementia will meet the requirements for a NFLOC. They also have to meet an asset limit, $2,000 for individuals in 2026, and an income limit, $2,982/month for an individual in 2026. These limits can change depending on the applicant’s marital status and whether or not their spouse is also applying for Medicaid.

The E&D Waiver has a limited number of enrollment spots (15,000 per year as of 2025), and once those spots are full additional applicants will be placed on a waitlist. It should be noted that the E&D Waiver beneficiaries can also live in their own home or the home of a loved one, but the focus of this page is on assisted living.

Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE)
Alabama residents age 55 and over who require a NFLOC can have all of their healthcare coverage, including Medicaid and Medicare, streamlined into one plan with Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE). LIFE also offers vision, dental and hearing care, and LIFE day centers provide day-time supervision, meals, social activities and regular health checkups for program participants. Being enrolled in Medicaid and/or Medicare is not a requirement for LIFE, but it is free for Alabama Aged, Blind and Disabled (ABD) Medicaid beneficiaries. The Alabama LIFE program is located in Daphne. LIFE is known as the Program for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) in other states.

Nursing Home Medicaid and Money Follow the Person
Alabama’s Nursing Home Medicaid will cover all nursing home expenses, including room and board, for all eligible applicants. To qualify, applicants must require a NFLOC, and they must meet an asset limit ($2,000 for individuals in 2026) and an income limit ($2,982/month for individuals in 2026).

Alabama Nursing Home Medicaid beneficiaries who want to leave the nursing home and return to a small group home with no more than four unrelated residents (or their own home or the home of a relative) can receive assistance with the transition through the Money Follows the Person program. The assistance can include paying for moving expenses, utility set-up fees, essential furniture and appliances, as well as long-term care coverage in the new residence. In Alabama, Money Follows the Person is called Gateway to Community Living.

Veterans Affairs Pensions

Qualified Alabama veterans (or their surviving spouses) with dementia can also receive financial assistance through a Veterans Affairs (VA) Pension that they could use to pay for assisted living or memory care.

There are three levels of VA Pensions – Basic, Aid & Attendance (A&A) and Housebound. To qualify for any of them, veterans or their surviving spouses need to meet a net worth limit of $163,699 (effective Dec. 1, 2025 – Nov. 30, 2026), which is calculated by adding the total of their assets to their annual income. Some assets are exempt, like a primary home, primary vehicle and household furniture and appliances. VA Pension applicants also have to meet an income limit to be eligible – their income must be less than the VA Pension they are applying for in order for them to qualify. And veterans must meet a military service requirement, which includes not having received a dishonorable discharge.

To qualify for A&A, veterans or their surviving spouses must also meet a medical requirement, which is one of the following must be true:

• They need help to perform the Activities of Daily Living (mobility, bathing, dressing/grooming, eating, toileting) OR
• They have to stay in bed for at least a large portion of the day due to illness OR
• They are in a nursing home due to loss of mental or physical abilities OR
• Their eyesight is extremely limited (5/200 or less in both eyes even with glasses or contacts; or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or fewer)

To qualify for Housebound, veterans must spend most of their time in their home due to a permanent disability.

There is no medical requirement for VA Basic Pensions.

Qualified veterans or their surviving spouses are entitled to their Maximum Annual Pension Rate (MAPR) minus their annual income. The following MAPRs are effective from Dec. 1, 2025 to Nov. 30, 2026:

VA Basic Pension MAPRs

• Veterans without spouses or children: $17,441
• Veterans with dependent spouses or children: $22,839
• Surviving spouses without dependent children: $11,699
• Surviving spouses with dependent children: $15,311
• Two veterans married to each other: $22,839

VA Aid & Attendance MAPRs

• Veterans without spouses or children: $29,093
• Veterans with dependent spouses or children: $34,488
• Surviving spouses without dependent children a maximum of $18,697
• Surviving spouses with dependent children: $22,304
• Two veterans married to each other and one qualifies for A&A: $33,548
• Two veterans married to each other and one qualifies for A&A and one for Housebound: $38,350
• Two veterans married to each other and both qualify for A&A: $46,143

VA Housebound MAPRs

• Veterans without spouses or children: $21,313
• Veterans with dependent spouses or children: $26,710
• Surviving spouses without dependent children: $14,298
• Surviving spouses with dependent children: $17,902
• Two veterans married to each other and one qualifies for Housebound: $26,710
• Two veterans married to each other and both qualify for Housebound: $30,580
• Two veterans married to each other and one qualifies Housebound and the other for A&A: $38,350

Veterans’ Homes
There are five veterans’ homes in Alabama, which are residential care facilities that provide long-term care for veterans. They are in Alexander City (Bill Nichols State Veterans Home), Bay Minette (William F. Green State Veterans Home), Enterprise (Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie D. Adkinds State Veterans Home), Huntsville (Floyd E. Fann State Veterans Home), and Pell City (Colonel Robert. L Howard State Veterans Home). Neighboring states may have more veterans’ homes, so a loved one might consider looking there for more options as there are no requirements that one must live in the state. Read more about VA Homes.

Supplemental Security Income

Dementia patients age 65 and over with limited income and assets may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These funds can be used to pay for the cost of assisted living or memory care. As of 2026, the maximum SSI benefit for an individual is $994/month and for a married couple it’s $1,491/month.

To qualify for SSI, applicants must be age 65 and over or have a significant disability, and they must meet an income limit and an asset limit. As of 2026, individuals may meet the SSI income limit if they earn less than $2,073/month OR they get less than $1,014/month from non-work sources, like Social Security benefits or pension payments. They may meet the SSI asset limit if they have $2,000 or less in countable assets. For couples, the income limit is $3,067/month in work income or $1,511/month in non-work income, and the asset limit is $3,000.

Other Options

1) Elder care loans exist for families to cover the costs of moving into memory care while waiting for other financial resources to become available. For example, if one is waiting for Medicaid approval or waiting to sell a home. More on bridge loans for memory care.

2) Some tax credits and deductions can provide financial relief for seniors with dementia and their families. Seniors with limited financial resources can claim the Credit for the Elderly and/or the Disabled, as long as no one can claim them as a dependent. If someone (like an adult child) can claim the senior as a dependent, they can utilize the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and they can deduct any medical or dental expenses they paid for the senior.

3) A reverse mortgage loan can be a viable option for some senior homeowners who are in need of extra income to help pay dementia care. However, reverse mortgages are not recommended for every senior homeowner who needs extra income, so it’s important to consult with a professional before taking out one of these loans.