Assisted Living in Louisiana

In Louisiana, assisted living provides long-term housing and care for active seniors. The cost of assisted living in Louisiana ranges from $3,000 to $6,000 a month, or $36,000 to $72,000 annually, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data from its brand partners. Assisted living in Louisiana can be a good fit for seniors looking for a warm location with Southern hospitality and an affordable cost of living.

The median monthly cost of assisted living in Louisiana is about $4,100, which is significantly less expensive than the approximate national median monthly cost of assisted living, which is $4,800, according to A Place for Mom’s internal data from its brand partners. For budget-aware seniors, this is a difference of $700 a month compared to the national median.

It’s a good idea to look at median costs instead of average costs because median costs aren’t normally influenced by extreme values, such as high-amenity communities or budget-friendly communities located in the state. In Louisiana, the 10th percentile monthly cost is around $3,100, while the 90th percentile monthly cost is about $6,000.

The cost of assisted living varies among communities. However, pricing typically takes into account the level of care required by a resident. The community’s location, floor plans, services, and amenities also influence cost. In Louisiana, communities may be priced higher in areas closer to desired amenities, such as the Gulf Coast beaches and the New Orleans metro. While these assisted living costs in Louisiana may feel pricey in comparison to the cost of living, some Louisianans may qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. These programs can cover some costs associated with senior living.

Planning ahead for assisted living costs is key. Your loved one can potentially pay for assisted living in Louisiana through a combination of private and public pay options. In the section below, you’ll find a variety of resources that can be used to cover assisted living costs in this state. To learn more about payment options, visit our complete guide to paying for long-term care.

The Louisiana Department of Health licenses and oversees four levels of what they call “adult residential care providers.” The levels are as follows:

• Level 1: Personal care homes
• Level 2: Shelter care homes
• Level 3: Assisted living facilities
• Level 4: Adult residential care

Typically, facilities have to meet state requirements to receive initial licensing. In Louisiana, reports about inspections and violations of assisted living regulations are usually not available to the public.

The department of health determines health standards for adult residential care providers. These include but are not limited to regulations on the following:

• Time frame for medication reviews
• Plans of care provided by third-party providers
• Process for medication administration
• Storage of medications and controlled substances
• Application of CPAP masks
• Determination of a resident’s representative
• Food preparation and safety measures

Transparency is limited when it comes to caregiver qualifications in Louisiana. If you’re interested in learning more about the qualifications of caregivers, ask prospective communities about the following topics:

• The community’s staff training protocols
• Specific areas of staff expertise
• Community policies regarding staff certifications
• Community policies regarding continuing education

State licensing in Louisiana

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 Louisiana assisted living records: Basic

Public access to assisted living records and reports for the state of Louisiana is basic. Key findings that informed this rating include:

• Louisiana doesn’t make information about inspections, violations, and complaints available online.
• Louisiana is in the lowest quartile for assisted living transparency.

How to look up Louisiana assisted living licenses and records

• Visit the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Provider Directories page for a map of licensed communities.
• You can also visit the US 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 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, which includes sample state-specific FOIA letters.

How we arrived at our Louisiana 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? No
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? No or N/A
9. Is capacity shown? Yes
10. Are payment types shown (e.g., Medicaid, private pay)? No
11. Is the administrator/contact name shown? Yes
12. Can the state fine a facility? Yes
13. What is the frequency of inspections? Every 12 months
14. Does the website include pricing of facilities? No