All life care communities are continuing care
retirement communities (CCRCs), but not all CCRCs are life care
communities.
Sounds like a riddle - but actually, there are some important
similarities and differences between these retirement living
options that you should know about.
Similarities
Both CCRCs and life care communities provide residents with a
lifestyle that includes on campus conveniences, services and
amenities, such as banks, beauty salons, fitness centers and more.
Most importantly, both types of communities can provide residents
with a complete range of lifestyle accommodations, from independent
living to assisted living and skilled nursing care.
Differences
The real distinction between a CCRC and a life care retirement
community comes down to the kind of contract the community offers.
There are generally three types of CCRC contracts:
- Extensive contracts: also
called Type-A Contracts,
provide residents with unlimited, lifetime access to independent
living, assisted living and skilled nursing care with little or no
increase in the monthly fee as the result of a need for a higher
level of care.
- Modified
contracts: provide residents
with a discounted rate for independent living and a limited period
of assisted living or skilled nursing care. Should the resident
need a higher level of care beyond that limited period, they pay a
daily rate for their care.
- Fee-for-service
contracts: also called rental contracts,
provide a lower monthly service fee for independent living
residents, but charge a daily rate to residents needing assisted
living and skilled nursing care services.
The ACTS Life Care Program
All ACTS retirement communities are life care communities. Our
Type-A extensive life care contract assures that your monthly fee
will never increase as a result of the need for a higher level of
care at any one of our ACTS communities.
And, because ACTS has the largest network of independently owned
and managed continuing care retirement communities in the United
States, you can visit - or even relocate - to another ACTS
community, and enjoy all the benefits and conveniences associated
with being an ACTS resident - from meal plans to health care.