Maine’s assisted living options offer long-term housing and care for generally active seniors. The median cost of assisted living in Maine is about $5,400 per month or $64,800 annually, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data from its brand partners in Maine. With the state’s picturesque beaches, plentiful pine trees, and a tasty seafood culture, Maine’s assisted living communities can be a great fit for seniors looking for outdoor adventures, cool summers, and snowy winters.
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:
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.
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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.
Seniors often begin with private pay options to cover the monthly costs of assisted living in Maine.
In Maine, your loved one may be able to access money to pay for assisted living by selling their home. Selling a house
If your loved one is a homeowner in Maine, they may be able to access that equity through a reserve mortgage to pay for assisted living. Reverse mortgage
A health savings account (HSA) may help your loved one pay for the cost of certain medically necessary care services in an assisted living facility in Maine. Health savings accounts (HSAs)
Ask your loved one if they have an active life insurance policy, as there are ways for them to leverage it to cover their assisted living costs in Maine. Life insurance
It’s key to learn about your loved one’s long-term care insurance policy, as it can potentially pay for at least some of their assisted living costs in Maine. Long-term care insurance
For seniors in Maine, Social Security benefits may help them cover their monthly assisted living costs in Maine. Social Security benefits for assisted living
Navigating VA benefits can be complicated and time consuming for seniors. Many veterans, veteran spouses, surviving spouses, and other military-connected individuals may not realize they’re eligible for VA benefits that can help pay for assisted living in Maine.
It’s helpful to seek benefits counseling to learn about the benefits available to your loved one in Maine. Maine’s Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management supports veterans and their families through their Bureau of Veterans’ Services. The bureau offers benefits counseling and general support to anyone wanting to learn more about federal and state-specific VA benefits.
While the bureau is headquartered at Camp Keyes in Augusta, there are field offices spread throughout the state, including in Caribou and Springvale. Veterans and their families can also access the Maine Veterans’ Benefits and Resource Guide online for more information.
Maine 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). These local organizations can provide Maine’s veterans with support and information on benefits.
Medicaid in Maine is referred to as MaineCare. As a joint state and federal program, MaineCare provides health care insurance to low-income Mainers. It may cover some medical care costs associated with assisted living for eligible individuals, such as medications, doctor visits, and certain care services. Mainers can apply online for MaineCare through the My Maine Connection online portal.
Most states offer home and community-based waiver programs that expand what Medicaid pays for when it comes to costs associated with assisted living. These waiver programs enable recipients to receive Medicaid-covered care services in their private residence or community.
In Maine, if you are aged, blind, or disabled, and eligible for Medicaid, there are several Maincare service options and waiver programs that can help with costs associated with assisted living. To learn more about these waivers, you can check out the current MaineCare Member Handbook, or call the MaineCare Member Services at 1-800-977-6740. TTY users can dial 711.
As a federal health care program, Medicare covers certain health care costs for qualified individuals 65 or older. While this program doesn’t cover room and board costs in assisted living, it can pay medical care costs for seniors who qualify. These costs typically only include medically necessary care as determined by a doctor and the Medicare program.
Seniors in Maine can contact the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to access free and confidential Medicare benefit counseling. If your loved one has questions or needs further assistance with assisted living resources, they can reach out to the Maine long-term care ombudsman program for additional information.
My parents moved into Birch Bay Village when they knew they needed more support as they aged. Now that my dad is gone my mom moved from independent to assisted living. Staff helped make this transition go...
The facility and everything about it is very nice about Schooner Estates, however the cost is extreme. It is costing nearly [fee removed]per month.
I would highly recommend it. We would choose it again for our dad. We are absolutely satisfied. My dad is thriving. The staff is amazing.
I would highly recommend it. We would choose it again for our dad. We are absolutely satisfied. My dad is thriving. The staff is amazing.
What I like the most about the 75 State Street community is the clear communication between administrators and staff regarding policies. All alerts or policy changes that I am appraised of go to my son and...
When we decided to place Mom in memory care we based our decision solely on how she would be received and cared for. [name removed] and [name removed] made the decision hands down for Fallbrook Woods....
I would highly recommend it. We would choose it again for our dad. We are absolutely satisfied. My dad is thriving. The staff is amazing.
The care staff is wonderful there. I really like the employees. It's the policy surrounding accurate personal care needs/assessments, follow up communication and what is being charged for services that are...
Any issues that I had were addressed immediately. The room was always clean and laundry done promptly. I found the evening meals bland, sometimes served late; leaving sandwiches dry and hot meals cold. I...
Any issues that I had were addressed immediately. The room was always clean and laundry done promptly. I found the evening meals bland, sometimes served late; leaving sandwiches dry and hot meals cold. I...
I would highly recommend it. We would choose it again for our dad. We are absolutely satisfied. My dad is thriving. The staff is amazing.
The care staff is wonderful there. I really like the employees. It's the policy surrounding accurate personal care needs/assessments, follow up communication and what is being charged for services that are...
The facility and everything about it is very nice about Schooner Estates, however the cost is extreme. It is costing nearly [fee removed]per month.
My mom passed away at the end of June- I have only positive things to say about The Highlands and their staff. Overall the facilities were great and the staff were very caring to my mom and to my family in...
The Country Village is a big old farmhouse. My mom’s room was clean, bright and cozy. Mom was very nervous about not going home after a long hospitalization but the people at the Country Village made her...
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:
These same regulations outline who can be an administrator at an assisted living facility. Administrators typically must meet the following requirements:
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.
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 Maine is moderate. Here are some key findings that informed this rating:
This state of Maine provides moderate access to assisted living records and licensing.
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 ME
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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