Assisted Living in Madison, AL: Costs and Communities

In Madison, AL, three of the five licensed assisted living communities also hold Alabama's specialty care license. That's the one used for memory care. Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care lists studios from $3,400, and The Madison Village lists assisted living from $3,950 a month. For the Huntsville area as a whole, CareScout's 2025 median for a private one-bedroom was $6,023 a month.

Assisted living in Madison, AL. AI interpretation of Madison, AL, with approximate buildings and layout
Last Updated: October 2026
8-minute read| Author: Seth Burney
Published: October 2026
8-minute read | Author: Seth Burney | Date Published: October 2026 | Last Updated: October 2026

Key Takeaways

A market stand, for assisted living costs in Madison, AL
CareScout's 2025 assisted living median for the Huntsville area was $6,023 a month, with 0 percent change from 2024.
A hospital building, for home health care near Madison, AL, part of our assisted living guide
No Medicare-certified home health agency has an office in Madison, AL. The state's lists place them in Huntsville and Athens.
A bookshelf, for Alabama's assisted living agreement rules, part of our guide for Madison, AL
Alabama requires a written financial agreement that lists basic charges, extra charges, refunds and the bed-hold policy.
A first aid case and stethoscope, for assisted living and memory care licenses in Madison, AL
Heritage, Madison at The Range and Merrill Gardens at Madison also hold Alabama's specialty care license, used for memory care.

Assisted Living Prices and Alabama's Written Fee Agreement in Madison, AL

Chart of 2025 monthly medians: assisted living $6,023 in the Huntsville area and $4,425 in Alabama; a shared nursing home room $9,429 and $8,334; a private room $10,053 and $8,787, part of our guide for Madison, AL

CareScout counts Madison, AL, in its Huntsville region. There, the 2025 assisted living median was $6,023 a month, with 0 percent change from its 2024 survey. Over the same year, Alabama's median fell 3 percent and the U.S. median rose 5 percent.

Two Madison, AL, communities list assisted living prices. Heritage Assisted Living & Memory Care lists a studio at $3,400 to $3,700, a one-bedroom at $4,100 to $4,900 and a two-bedroom at $5,450. The Madison Village lists assisted living from $3,950 a month. Its one monthly rate covers utilities, dining and building maintenance (as published by each community, checked Oct. 20, 2026). The other three don't name an assisted living price.

Heritage also lists a $2,500 community fee and a $1,500 fee for a second person. Charges like these belong in the written financial agreement Alabama requires. The resident, or a sponsor, signs it with the community before or at move-in. It lists the basic charges for room, meals, laundry and personal care. It also lists each service billed on its own. The community has to make sure the resident or sponsor understands it before anyone signs.

What Alabama's assisted living financial agreement has to list: basic charges, extra charges, refunds, how it ends and the bed-hold policy, and a reminder about the ombudsman, part of our guide for Madison, AL

Madison, AL, Assisted Living Communities by Size and License

Chart of licensed assisted living beds in Madison, AL: Heritage 31, Madison at The Range 82, Merrill Gardens at Madison 160, The Madison Village 60, The Neighborhood at Madison 46

The state files Heritage under Limestone County and the other four communities under Madison County. All five are licensed as congregate assisted living facilities. That's the rule's term for one allowed to care for 17 or more adults. Heritage, Madison at The Range and Merrill Gardens at Madison also hold the specialty care license.

Heritage is locally owned and operated. Its assisted living floor plans run from a 384-square-foot studio to a 775-square-foot two-bedroom. Madison at The Range sits on 14 acres, all on one level with no stairs or elevators. It has four courtyards and two greenhouses. Merrill Gardens at Madison has independent living, assisted living and memory care at one address on Brookridge Drive. A nonprofit holds the license for The Madison Village. There, assisted living and independent living share a 10-acre campus near Madison Hospital. The Neighborhood at Madison specializes in assisted living and respite care. Respite care is a short stay that gives a family caregiver a break. The Neighborhood offers it for up to 60 days in a row.

Assisted Living in Madison, AL

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Licensed Assisted Living in Madison, AL

Home Care Options in Madison, AL

A first aid case and stethoscope, for home care options in Madison, AL, part of our assisted living guide

No Medicare-certified home health agency has an office in Madison, AL. The ones on the state's lists for Madison County and Limestone County are based in Huntsville and Athens. If you or your family member would like to stay home a while longer, BrightStar Care of Huntsville keeps its office on Wall Triana Highway in the city. Paid help at home in Alabama ran a median of $27 an hour in CareScout's 2025 survey. That's $5,148 a month at 44 hours a week.

  • Non-medical home care covers company and personal care like bathing. BrightStar lists companion care, personal care, Alzheimer's and dementia care, respite care and short-term transitional care.
  • Nursing at home is the medical side. BrightStar lists skilled nursing at home, such as wound care, IV therapy and medication management. It says availability varies by location. A registered nurse oversees each plan of care.

What Medicare's home health benefit pays for. It covers part-time skilled nursing, therapy and aide visits at home from a certified agency, when a provider orders the care. It's for someone who's homebound: going out isn't advised, or it takes help and a big effort. It doesn't cover care around the clock or chores that aren't part of the care plan.

Home Care in Madison, AL

  • BrightStar Care of Huntsville, 6594 Wall Triana Highway, Suite C. Services listed: Companion care, personal care, Alzheimer's and dementia care, respite care, transitional care and skilled nursing.

How Alabama Licenses, Staffs and Checks Assisted Living in Madison, AL

A license for one year at a time. Every Alabama assisted living license runs for the calendar year. All 2026 licenses expire Dec. 31, 2026, and the renewal season runs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. A community with serious, repeated or uncorrected problems can be put on a probational license for up to a year. It can't add beds while on it. The license certificate has to hang in plain sight. It shows the license class and the number of beds, which in Madison, AL, run from 31 at Heritage to 160 at Merrill Gardens at Madison.

A licensed administrator. Each community must be run by an administrator with an Alabama license. The Alabama Board of Examiners of Assisted Living Administrators oversees those administrators. It looks into complaints against them and has a Licensee Lookup on its website.

Staff around the clock. Alabama's rule doesn't set a staff-to-resident number for regular assisted living. Instead, a community needs enough staff on duty to meet residents' care and safety needs 24 hours a day. At least one person certified in CPR has to be there at all times. The staff schedule, with names and hours, gets posted.

Four things every licensed Alabama assisted living community must do: renew its license each year, have a licensed administrator, keep a CPR-certified staff member on duty and check each resident monthly, part of our guide for Madison, AL

A doctor's exam and a monthly check. A doctor examines each new resident in the 30 days before move-in, then once a year. Each resident picks their own doctor and can switch at any time. Staff check each resident every month, including whether the person can still handle their own medicines. A written care plan is made with the resident and, when it fits, the resident's sponsor.

Who gives medicines. Staff without a nursing license may remind a resident that it's time for a medicine. They may also help a resident who knows their own medicines take them. Right now, only a doctor or a nurse may give the medicine itself. Starting Nov. 14, 2026, Alabama's new assisted living rule lets a certified medication assistant give medicines too, with a licensed nurse supervising.

Meals. A community serves at least three meals a day, about five hours apart. No more than 14 hours pass between the evening meal and breakfast. The week's menu is posted. At The Madison Village, dining is part of the monthly rate.

Questions to ask on a Madison, AL, tour:

  • May I see the license certificate, and is it a regular or a probational license?
  • Who is the administrator, and how long have they led this community?
  • After Nov. 14, 2026, will a certified medication assistant give medicines here, and which nurse supervises?
  • What does the financial agreement list as extra charges, and what's the bed-hold policy?
  • How will my family hear about the monthly check and changes to the care plan?

Paying for Assisted Living in Madison, AL: Savings, VA and Medicaid at Home

Hands holding a heart beside a meal, for paying for assisted living in Madison, AL

Here's how private pay, insurance, VA benefits and Alabama Medicaid's programs work for families in Madison, AL. The Medicaid programs below pay for care at home or in a nursing home, not assisted living.

  • Private pay. You or your family pay the community directly each month, from a pension, investments or what's left from selling a house.
  • Long-term care insurance. The Alabama Department of Insurance says these policies pay for at least 24 months of nursing home care. They also cover 12 months of lower-level care, such as home health or adult day care. Whether a policy pays for assisted living comes down to its own written terms.
  • VA Aid and Attendance. To apply, a medical examiner fills out part of VA Form 21-2680. The benefit can't be paired with Housebound benefits. It adds to a VA pension for a veteran who needs another person's help with daily life. The yearly cap for a veteran with no dependents is $29,093, at rates from Dec. 1, 2025. VA also has service, income and net worth rules. The net worth limit is $163,699 through Nov. 30, 2026.
  • Alabama Medicaid's care at home. Medicaid is the health plan for people with low incomes, run by the state and the federal government. TARCOG, the area agency on aging for Madison and Limestone counties, runs Alabama Medicaid's Elderly and Disabled Waiver locally as Aging at Home. It's built for people who'd otherwise need a nursing home but want to stay in their own homes. Their income can be no more than 300 percent of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) limit. Its Personal Choices option lets a participant pick who gives their care, including family or friends.
  • Leaving a hospital or nursing home. TARCOG's Hospital to Home program helps full Alabama Medicaid members get back home. It's for members who came into the hospital from home and are at risk of moving to long-term care. Alabama Medicaid's Alabama Community Transition (ACT) waiver helps people living in a nursing home move back to a home in the community.
  • Medicaid in a nursing home. Alabama Medicaid lists its 2026 nursing home income limit as $2,982. A person with more income may still qualify by setting up a Qualifying Income Trust. Medicaid also has a resource limit.

The one stay Medicare does cover. After at least three days in a row as an admitted hospital patient, Medicare pays for a short stay in a skilled nursing facility. In 2026, days 1 to 20 cost nothing after a $1,736 deductible. Days 21 to 100 cost $217 a day. The daily help in assisted living is long-term care, and Medicare doesn't pay for that.

Medicare counseling at TARCOG. TARCOG's State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselors explain Medicare and related coverage. They don't sell insurance. Medicare's open enrollment runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 in 2026. TARCOG's Aging & Disability Resource Center in Huntsville is also where to ask about Aging at Home.

Ombudsman Help for Madison and Limestone Counties

  • TARCOG's long-term care ombudsman. For Madison and Limestone counties, this office visits long-term care communities on a routine basis. It also helps settle disputes over residents' rights and reports suspected abuse, neglect or fraud.
  • The state ombudsman office. Alabama's Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman covers nursing homes, assisted living, specialty care facilities and boarding homes. Anyone can use it, including family, friends and staff. A complaint can go in writing, by phone or in person. The person filing it doesn't have to give a name, and everything stays confidential.
  • Fee disputes. Alabama requires each financial agreement to remind the resident that the local ombudsman may be able to help when a fee dispute can't be settled.
  • Residents' rights on the wall. Each community has to explain residents' rights at move-in and post a copy in a common area.

Frequently Asked Questions

$4,425 a month, in CareScout's 2025 Cost of Care Survey. That's Alabama's median for a private one-bedroom, paid privately. The Huntsville area, which includes Madison, AL, was $6,023, and the U.S. median was $6,200. Two communities in Madison, AL, post an assisted living price. Heritage lists a studio from $3,400, and The Madison Village lists assisted living from $3,950 a month.

Not for the daily care. In Madison, AL, TARCOG's insurance counselors can go over what a Medicare plan does cover. One example is a short skilled nursing stay after at least three days in a row as an admitted hospital patient. The room, meals and personal care in assisted living are paid in other ways, like private pay.

In CareScout's 2025 survey, the Huntsville area's assisted living median was $6,023 a month. A shared nursing home room ran $9,429, and a private room $10,053. Next to Alabama as a whole, the area's assisted living median was about $1,600 higher. Its shared nursing home room was about $1,100 higher.

One route keeps care at home. Through TARCOG's Aging at Home program, Alabama Medicaid's Elderly and Disabled Waiver pays for care at home for people who'd otherwise need a nursing home. Its Personal Choices option lets a participant pick who gives the care, including family or friends. TARCOG's Aging & Disability Resource Center in Huntsville screens for programs and helps with applications.

Alabama's rule spells it out. The written financial agreement has to list the basic charges and every service billed as an extra. It also gives the refund policy for money paid ahead and how either side can end the agreement. Then there's the bed-hold policy. Those are the rules and charges for holding a room while the resident is away. And it reminds the resident that the local ombudsman may help with a fee dispute. In Madison, AL, that's TARCOG's ombudsman.

Yes, when both spouses live there and both agree. That right is part of Alabama's assisted living rule. So is the right to get outside often and to come and go. In Madison, AL, Heritage lists a $1,500 fee for a second person.

A doctor or a nurse, for now. Other staff may remind a resident and help one who knows their own medicines take them. Starting Nov. 14, 2026, Alabama's new rule also lets a certified medication assistant give medicines, with a licensed nurse supervising. So at a Madison, AL, community, the person giving medicines may be a nurse or, after that date, a certified medication assistant.

Sources

Checked Oct. 20, 2026.

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