Medicaid can pay for assisted living in North Carolina through the state's Personal Care Services and CAP/DA waiver programs, but coverage rules are specific: not every community accepts Medicaid, and the ones that do often cap the number of Medicaid-funded beds they offer at any given time. In Matthews, 10 assisted living facilities currently accept Medicaid in some form, alongside private pay. This page lists them so you can narrow your search to places that will actually work with your coverage instead of finding out after a tour that a community is private-pay only.
What Medicaid coverage actually pays for
In most cases Medicaid in North Carolina does not cover the full cost of assisted living. It typically covers the personal care component (help with bathing, dressing, medication management, mobility) while room and board is billed separately, often through the state's State/County Special Assistance program for low-income residents. That means the total monthly cost a family pays can still vary a lot between two communities that both technically "accept Medicaid," depending on the room-and-board rate each one charges. Ask directly what portion Medicaid covers and what the resident or family is expected to pay out of pocket.
What to look for before you commit
- Confirm current bed availability. Medicaid-funded beds are limited and communities sometimes carry waitlists even if they're technically Medicaid-accepting.
- Ask about the level-of-care assessment. Admission usually depends on a state or county assessment showing the person needs a specific level of personal care.
- Check staffing and licensing status. North Carolina's Division of Health Service Regulation licenses and inspects these facilities; ask to see recent inspection results.
- Tour more than one. Room size, dining, activities, and staff turnover vary widely even among Medicaid-accepting communities in the same town.
- Clarify what happens if care needs increase. Some communities can't keep a resident once needs exceed assisted living level and require a move to a nursing facility.
How our scoring works
We rank the Medicaid-accepting facilities in Matthews on the same criteria across the board: licensing and inspection history, staffing, resident services, and verified details like accepted payment types. That ranking is what feeds our guide, so you can compare these 10 side by side rather than relying on a single facility's own marketing. See the full breakdown and methodology at /scoring-method/, or jump straight to the ranked list at /matthews-nc/best/assisted-living-facilities/.