Lakeland Senior AdvisorWhat separates an assisted living facility from a nursing home in Florida?
A nursing home delivers 24-hour nursing under a nursing home license and, for most, federal certification; an assisted living facility provides housing, meals, personal care and supervision and may not keep a resident who is bedridden or needs 24-hour nursing supervision unless that resident is on hospice.
Nursing homes are surveyed for both AHCA and CMS and receive CMS star ratings. ALFs are inspected by AHCA alone, and no government agency rates them.
How much more does a nursing home cost in Florida?
Roughly twice as much: CareScout's 2025 Florida medians are $124,100 a year for a semi-private nursing home room and $66,000 for assisted living, though Medicare pays for short skilled stays and Medicaid pays for long nursing home stays far more completely than it pays for assisted living.
For a person with low income who qualifies for Medicaid, a nursing home can cost the family less out of pocket than an ALF, because Medicaid does not pay assisted living rent and meals.
Can a resident return to assisted living after nursing home rehab?
Yes; many short-stay rehab patients at Polk County nursing homes go back to their ALF, as long as they once again meet its admission criteria, such as transferring with help and not needing 24-hour nursing supervision.
If you can, hold the ALF apartment: ask how long the facility will keep it during a rehab stay and what it charges to do so.
How do we decide which one a parent needs?
Write down every nursing task your parent needs by day and by night; if any requires a nurse at all hours, or your parent cannot assist with transfers at all, look at nursing homes, and if not, look at assisted living, particularly ALFs with an LNS or ECC license.
Our Polk County nursing home pages place each home's CMS staffing hours and turnover beside the county median, often the most revealing comparison.
What changes for a resident who moves from assisted living to a nursing home?
Usually privacy and independence shrink: most Florida nursing home rooms are shared and the facility sets the daily schedule, while round-the-clock nursing is gained and, for residents who qualify, Medicaid pays room and board.
When a terminal illness is driving the change, many families try hospice inside the ALF first, which s. 429.26 permits.
Side by side
| Nursing home | Assisted living facility | |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing | Licensed nurses around the clock | Limited nursing; more under LNS or ECC |
| Ratings | CMS star ratings | No government rating |
| Medicaid | Covers long stays for eligible residents | Covers services, not rent and meals |
Built from Chapters 408, 429 and 651, Florida Statutes; Florida Administrative Code chapters 59A-36 and 65A-2; AHCA, DCF, OIR and Department of Elder Affairs publications; and the CareScout and VA rate tables cited on this page. Our editorial standards explain how each figure is checked.
