I was pleasantly surprised recently when I re-visited Washington’s DSHS Aging and Long-Term Support Administration website, which has been re-done, and includes a plethora of helpful facility information, definitions, and regulations documents.
(Return to, or visit our Washington assisted living section)
One of the most useful things I found (given that I get so many questions on our site, Assisted Living Directory, on which facilities accept, or work with Medicaid), was their facility locator tool and database, which offers not only a great way to research facilities, but also a way to identify those facilities that accept Medicaid.
Very simply, visit the facility locator:
https://fortress.wa.gov/dshs/adsaapps/lookup/BHAdvLookup.aspx
and from there, you can research, and search for facilities state-wide and filter using a number of choices including by:
City
Zip Code
License Number
County
From there, your facilities will be displayed. The information about each facility includes:
The Location
The Facility Phone Number (direct)
The Capacity of the Facility (or number of beds)
and
Contracts and Specialties (this is where it will clearly state whether the facility accepts Medicaid, or not)
Some other cool features about this too is that you can also look at some of the important documents and enforcement letters that have been issued to the facility, including fines imposed.
On the main search page, you can also choose to have your list produced in Excel format, Printer Friendly, or CSV format, all of which are helpful if you want to print your list to take around to different facilities as you tour them, and be able to write notes about each.
You can also filter by those facilities that handle Dementia residents, and those that do not Contract with, or accept Medicaid.
Washington Medicaid:
http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-State/washington.cfml
Thanks for showing the less technically inclined how to run these reports. Software can be really hard when you’re not familiar with it. Tutorials that show you how to function are a lifesaver!
This is such a great idea. I wonder if something similar exists in my area. We want to find a good assisted living facility for my mom and this would really help us find that. I’ll have to do some research on that!
It is interesting to learn more about insurance for assisted living. My grandpa has been struggling and needs help with assisted living in the Washington area. I think this article will really help him.
This is a great way to narrow down the search for assisting living care. I agree that running the reports can sometimes be complicated, but this process really simplifies that. I too are looking for a place for my mother to have assisted living and I will have to check if my state offers something similar. Thanks for posting this great article, it’s really helped me out a lot.
What a great article! I found this article really insightful I particularly like the section that talks about the costs of assisted living and it is a lot less then what people think.
This is really helpful. I do wish the State would indicate which assisted living facilities take Medicaid at admission. The vast majority of “medicaid accepted” facilities are designed for people with approx. 80k in assets to spend on care there for one or two years, before they accept Medicaid. Rare if you can find any AL that accepts a Medicaid receiver right off the bat. SO discouraging! If people had 80k for their care, they wouldn’t need Medicaid.