What Respite Care Costs Cover in Citrus County
In this article
A respite stay in Citrus County is paid from one of four places: your own funds, a respite benefit inside a long term care insurance policy, a state respite program run through the Area Agency on Aging, or Medicare's hospice benefit if your parent is already on hospice. For a stay you are booking for next month, the first two are the realistic answers.
What the community quotes is one number covering the room, three meals a day, the activities calendar, and the same hands on care a permanent resident gets. How much care your parent needs is what moves that number, which is why nobody can give you a figure over the phone before they hear what the week involves.
Rule out Medicare first
This is where most families lose two weeks. Medicare pays for short term skilled nursing after a qualifying hospital stay, and it pays for home health. It does not pay for assisted living, and it does not pay for a respite stay in one.
The exception is hospice. If your parent is enrolled in Medicare hospice, the benefit includes inpatient respite care, meaning short term care in a facility the hospice team arranges so the family caregiver can rest. Medicare says you may pay 5 percent of the Medicare approved amount for it, and that your copayment cannot be more than the inpatient hospital deductible. Read the Medicare hospice coverage page before you call (800) 633-4227, and know going in that the hospice team chooses the setting, so it may not be the community you would have picked.
What the quote actually covers
A respite stay at either of our communities includes a furnished room that is ready to move into, three home cooked meals a day, help with medications, bathing, dressing, and getting around, and the full activities calendar that permanent residents follow. A stay can be in assisted living or in the secured memory care section, whichever fits.
That is worth knowing because it changes how you compare numbers. A stay is not a hotel room with care billed on top, so a figure that sounds high next to a rented room is covering staff awake at 3am, laundry, and every meal.
Our published monthly figures are the starting point for a permanent move, not the number for one week in November, but they tell you the range you are working in:
Homosassa, Florida
- Companion suiteAssisted living
- $3,500a month, starting at
- Private studioAssisted living
- $5,000a month, starting at
- Shared roomMemory care
- $4,500a month, set rate
Crystal River, Florida
- Companion suiteAssisted living
- $2,500a month, starting at
- Private studioAssisted living
- $4,000a month, starting at
- Shared roomMemory care
- $4,500a month, set rate
The number for a short stay comes after the administrator hears your dates and what your parent needs. Our full pricing page shows what the monthly rate includes.
The state program most families never hear about
Florida's Department of Elder Affairs funds respite for family caregivers, and one piece of it is built for exactly this situation. Under the Alzheimer's Disease Initiative, respite comes as in home help, adult day care, emergency respite, and extended care of up to 30 days for caregivers looking after someone with a memory disorder. The state runs it through 11 Area Agencies on Aging, so the answer you get is local, not statewide.
Citrus County is served by Elder Options, whose helpline is (800) 262-2243. Ask what respite is actually funded and open right now, rather than what the program allows, because how much an agency can place depends on its funding for the year. Read the state's caregiving programs page so you can name the program when you call.
Call the agency before you call your parent's doctor. If a state program can carry part of the stay, it may change the dates you ask for, and the doctor's paperwork is easier to schedule once your dates are settled.
Long term care insurance is the faster answer
If your parent holds a long term care policy, that is usually the quickest outside money for a short stay. Most policies include a respite benefit, capped at a set number of days a year, and many have a waiting period before benefits start at all. Read the benefit section, then call the number on the policy and ask three things: whether respite in an assisted living community qualifies, how many days are left this year, and whether the waiting period has been satisfied. Carriers reimburse on paperwork, so ask what they need from the community before the stay, not after.
Work it in this order
| Step | Who to call | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Confirm what Medicare will and will not do | Medicare, (800) 633-4227 | Whether hospice respite applies. If your parent is not on hospice, Medicare is out |
| 2. Read the policy, then call the carrier | the number printed on the policy | Whether there is a respite benefit, how many days are left, and whether a waiting period applies |
| 3. Ask what state respite is funded | Elder Options, (800) 262-2243 | Whether a Florida program can carry part of the stay, and how soon |
| 4. Ask the VA, if your parent is a veteran | your VA social worker or caregiver support team | Which setting VA respite happens in. It is not assisted living |
| 5. Get your dates quoted | (352) 382-2531 for Sugarmill Manor, (352) 794-7601 for The Gardens | What the stay costs and whether those dates are open |
| 6. Book the doctor's visit | your parent's own doctor | The health assessment Florida requires before a stay |
On the VA row, be ready for the answer. The VA funds respite in three settings, at home, in an adult day health program, or in a nursing home, and assisted living is not one of them. The three options are listed on the VA respite care page.
What Medicaid does, and what it will not do for next month
Here is the part that works against us, said plainly. Both of our communities accept Medicaid. That does not mean Medicaid will pay for a respite week.
Florida Medicaid covers respite only for someone already enrolled in long term care Medicaid, and getting enrolled takes months, often behind a waiting list. So a family who calls in October about a stay in November is almost always paying privately, at our communities and at everyone else's. A community accepting Medicaid for a permanent move tells you nothing about who pays for a short one.
That is the single most common misunderstanding we hear on the phone, and it is better to hear it now than three weeks into a plan built on it.
The cost nobody budgets for
Florida requires a medical examination for anyone moving into an assisted living community, recorded on the state health assessment form, completed within 60 days before or within 30 days after the day they move in. A respite guest is not exempt. For a one week stay, that usually means fitting a doctor's visit around the week, and a physician's office can take two weeks to produce the form.
Our post on how short respite stays work walks through that paperwork and how to get it signed without a separate appointment.
Getting a real number
Tell us the dates you are thinking about and what your parent needs on a normal day, including whether the secured memory care section is the right fit, and the administrator will tell you what is open and what the stay costs. There is no form standing between you and that answer. More on how a stay works is on our respite care page, and you can send us the dates if it is easier than a call.
Frequently asked questions
How much does respite care cost in Citrus County?
A respite stay is quoted for your dates rather than listed as a nightly rate, because the number depends on how much daily care your parent needs. The quote covers the furnished room, three meals a day, help with medications and personal care, and the activities calendar. Call the community with your dates and what a normal day looks like for your parent, and you get a real number.
Does Medicare pay for respite care in assisted living?
No. Medicare does not pay for assisted living or for a respite stay in one. The one exception is hospice: a parent enrolled in Medicare hospice can receive inpatient respite care in a facility the hospice team arranges, and Medicare says the patient may pay 5 percent of the approved amount.
Does Medicaid pay for a respite stay?
Rarely, and almost never on short notice. Florida Medicaid covers respite only for someone already enrolled in long term care Medicaid, and enrollment takes months, often behind a waiting list. A stay you are arranging for next month is usually paid privately, even at a community that accepts Medicaid for a permanent move.
Is there a Florida program that pays for respite?
Yes. The Florida Department of Elder Affairs funds respite through the Area Agencies on Aging, including in home respite, adult day care, emergency respite, and extended care of up to 30 days for a caregiver looking after someone with a memory disorder. Citrus County is served by Elder Options, whose helpline is (800) 262-2243. What is available depends on the agency's funding, so ask what is open before you plan around it.
Will long term care insurance cover a short stay?
Often, within limits. Most long term care policies include a respite benefit capped at a set number of days a year, and many have a waiting period before benefits begin. Call the carrier and ask whether respite in an assisted living community qualifies, how many days remain this year, and what paperwork they need from the community before the stay.
Sources
Written by
Community Relations Director
Cameron Hernando Clark is the Community Relations Director for The Manors of Citrus. He writes this family guide to help Citrus County families make sense of assisted living and memory care, drawing on the day to day of running two family owned communities on Florida's Nature Coast.
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