Key Facts/FAQs

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Profile of Supportive Living Facilities

• By 2030, 70 million Americans will be 65 years or older, making up 20% of the population, up form 35 million in 2000.
• Today, there are 11.8 million Americans 75 years or older. Just more than half earn less than $30,000 – too little to afford market rate assisted living .
• In Illinois alone, there are 484,000 householders over the age of 75. Approximately 52% of householders over the age of 75 earn less the $30,000 annually .
• The Supportive Living Program started in 1999 with 26 units.
• Today, the program has grown to 9,387 units in 119 Supportive Living Facilities, which makes the Illinois Supportive Living Program one of the largest affordable assisted living models in the country .

What is the Supportive Living Program

The Supportive Living Program is an affordable assisted living model administered by the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services. Like Assisted Living communities, Supportive Living Facilities (SLF) are age-restricted, 65 years of age or older, rental properties that offer personal care with additional services. SLFs accepts reimbursement for services under Illinois’ Medicaid waiver program. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services has obtained a “waiver” to allow payment for services that are not routinely covered by Medicaid. The services include personal care, homemaking, laundry, medication supervision, social activities, recreation and 24-hour staff to meet residents’ scheduled and unscheduled needs.

The Supportive Living Program is not solely a low-income alternative. The Supportive Living program is also available to residents paying privately. As of 2/08/08, approximately 3,697 residents were Medicaid waiver recipients. An additional 2,694 residents were paying privately .

What sets Supportive Living apart from Assisted Living is the ability of private paying residents to spend down their funds and qualify for financial assistance through Medicaid. The Supportive Living program is designed to offer residents who qualify the opportunity to access Medicaid benefits and continue living at the community without worrying about payments.

Most Assisted Living communities charge additional fees for additional care on top of a baseline care package. Based on a survey conducted by the Life Services Network in 2007, 94% of SLFs offered an all-inclusive service package for Supportive Living services .

Supportive Living services include:

• Temporary nursing care
• Social / Recreational Programming
• Health promotion and exercise programs
• Medication oversight
• Ancillary services
• 24-hour staffing
• Personal care
• Laundry
• Housekeeping
• Maintenance
• Meals and snacks

Operating Expenses

Seniors housing is different from other sectors of commercial real estate in that there are less fixed expenses. Labor-related expenses, including payroll taxes and benefits, are generally the largest major expense category for seniors housing communities, particularly for assisted living residences and CCRCs. During tough economic times, communities can modify staffing and services to lower expenses and maintain operating margins. The following chart displays estimated operating expenses for SLFs based on a representative sample of communities throughout Illinois. In 2008, annual median operating expenses for SLFs state wide is $20,776 per occupied bed. In the Chicago Area, median operating expenses are $23,772 per occupied bed. Expenses vary from community to community based on many reasons including the number of units, property layout, and services offered.

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