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Nursing Home vs. Assisted Living

Indiana licenses nursing homes as Comprehensive Care Facilities and assisted living as Residential Care Facilities -- two separate rule chapters and two different levels of medical care.

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Short answer

Indiana licenses nursing homes as Comprehensive Care Facilities, providing 24-hour skilled nursing care, and assisted living as Residential Care Facilities (RCF) under 410 IAC 16.2-5, a lower level of care focused on daily-activity help and medication administration.

Why the ratings differ

Nursing facilities are the one senior-care category with a federal CMS Care Compare star rating. Assisted living (RCF) communities are not federally star-rated -- their record lives only in Indiana's own inspection search.

What pushes a resident from one to the other

A resident whose needs exceed an RCF's admission/retention limits under 410 IAC 16.2-5 -- typically a need for 24-hour licensed nursing care -- generally needs to transition to a Comprehensive Care Facility. Several Indianapolis-metro campuses hold both license types on one property specifically to make that transition easier.

You can check any facility's record free. Use the Indiana Long Term Care Survey & Inspection Public Search (hoosierusa.isdh.in.gov) and, for nursing homes, CMS Care Compare. Read the full explanation →

Questions families ask

What's the difference between hospice and palliative care?

Palliative care focuses on symptom relief and quality of life, and can run alongside curative treatment at any stage of an illness. Hospice is for a life-limiting illness when a physician expects six months or less if the disease runs its normal course, and generally means curative treatment has stopped.

What license does Indiana require for assisted living?

Indiana licenses assisted-living-type communities as Residential Care Facilities (RCF) under 410 IAC 16.2-5 and Indiana Code 16-28-2, issued by the Indiana Department of Health. It is a single license type -- Indiana does not tier assisted living into Type A/Type B categories the way Texas does.

Does Indiana require every assisted living community to be licensed?

No. Under 410 IAC 16.2-5-0.5(c), a community that provides only room, board, housekeeping and activities -- without administering medication or providing nursing care -- is not required to hold a Residential Care Facility license at all. Some buildings marketed as assisted living in Indiana may carry no state license, so always confirm directly.

Does Indiana require a separate license for memory care?

No. Indiana requires a written Alzheimer's and Dementia Special Care Disclosure under Indiana Code 12-10-5.5, not a separate state certification. Communities must file the disclosure and meet training requirements, but there is no distinct 'certified memory care' license to check for.

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