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Guides and updates

Written for Austin families, sourced against Texas HHSC and federal data.

Quick answer

This section publishes guides on senior care in the Austin metro, covering Texas licensing, costs, Medicaid, VA benefits and local resources. New guides publish Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

HomeGuides and updates
Short answer

This section publishes 11 guides on senior care in the Austin metro, covering Texas HHSC licensing, what care costs, Medicaid STAR+PLUS, VA benefits, and local Austin resources. New guides publish Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

July 20, 2026

What Happens to the Property Tax When Your Austin Parent Moves Into Care

Moving a parent into assisted living does not automatically end their Texas homestead exemption, and the over-65 tax deferral can free up cash for care. Both are easy to lose by accident.

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July 17, 2026

Sun City Georgetown: When Aging in Place Stops Working

Sun City Texas was built for active retirees, and it does that job well. It is ordinary age-restricted housing, not a care setting, and no personal care comes with the address. Here is what Georgetown families do when needs change.

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July 15, 2026

How to Read a Texas HHSC Inspection Report Without Panicking

Almost every facility has deficiencies. A report with none is unusual enough to be worth a second look. Here is where to find Texas survey records, how to tell a paperwork citation from a real problem, and what to ask on the tour.

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July 13, 2026

Austin Summer Heat and Older Adults: What Actually Helps

Central Texas summers are hard on older bodies in ways that are easy to miss until someone is in an emergency room. Here is what changes with age, what to watch for, and which Austin services actually help.

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July 11, 2026

How Austin Families Actually Pay for Memory Care

No published median exists for memory care in Texas or in Austin. That absence shapes every funding decision families make. Here is what each source of money really covers, and the order-of-operations mistakes that cost the most.

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July 10, 2026

Observation Status: The Hospital Word That Costs Austin Families Thousands

Your parent can spend four nights in an Austin hospital bed and still not qualify for Medicare's skilled nursing benefit. The reason is a billing classification almost nobody explains at the bedside. Here is how to catch it in time.

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July 8, 2026

Why Williamson County Became the Metro's Fastest-Growing Senior Care Market

Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park and Leander now hold roughly 103,000 residents 65 and older, a 23.6 percent jump since 2020. Here is what that growth does to availability, to price, and to the drive time that matters most.

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July 6, 2026

What to Read Before You Sign an Austin Assisted Living Contract

The residency agreement, not the tour, decides what your family pays and how long your parent gets to stay. Here are the clauses that change the number, and the questions that surface them before you sign.

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July 4, 2026

Your Parent Needs Help: What to Do in the First 30 Days in Austin

A week-by-week sequence for Austin families who just realised a parent cannot manage alone. Assessment first, reversible causes second, free local resources third, money fourth. Housing decisions come last, not first.

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July 3, 2026

How to Tour an Austin Senior Living Community Without Getting Sold

A scheduled tour is a sales presentation. Here is what to verify before you arrive, what to watch during the visit, why mealtime tells you more than the brochure, and why the second visit should be unannounced.

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July 1, 2026

VA Aid and Attendance: The Austin Benefit Most Veteran Families Never Claim

Nearly 100,000 veterans live in Travis, Williamson and Hays counties, and Aid and Attendance is among the most under-claimed benefits in the metro. Here is how the income offset works and why families wrongly rule themselves out.

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Questions Austin families ask

What's the difference between Type A and Type B assisted living in Texas?

Texas licenses assisted living by residents' ability to evacuate. Type A residents must evacuate without physical staff assistance, follow emergency directions, and not need nighttime attendance. Type B residents may need staff help evacuating, nighttime attendance, and help transferring from a wheelchair, but cannot be permanently bedfast.

Is memory care a separate license in Texas?

No. Memory care isn't a license type. Under Texas rule 26 TAC 553.27, any community advertising specialized Alzheimer's or dementia care must hold an Alzheimer's certification, and it must be licensed as Type B to qualify. Always ask to see the Alzheimer's certificate, not just the license.

How do I check if an Austin assisted living facility is licensed?

Search the Texas HHSC provider database. Use TULIP at tulip.hhs.texas.gov for current license status, and the legacy tool at apps.hhs.texas.gov/ltcsearch for inspection history and cited deficiencies. Both are free and public. Confirm the license type, Type A or Type B, matches your parent's actual care needs.

Do Texas assisted living facilities have star ratings like nursing homes?

No. CMS star ratings on Medicare Care Compare cover nursing facilities only. Texas assisted living facilities are regulated solely by state HHSC and receive no federal star rating. To evaluate an Austin assisted living community, review its HHSC inspection history and deficiency reports directly.

Where can I see nursing home inspection results in Texas?

Two places. Texas HHSC publishes survey results with cited and corrected deficiency dates at apps.hhs.texas.gov/ltcsearch. Medicare's Care Compare adds one-to-five star ratings covering health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. HHSC surveys most nursing facilities about once a year on health and life safety code compliance.

Who do I call to report a problem at an Austin nursing home?

Call Texas HHSC Complaint and Incident Intake at 1-800-458-9858, weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. That line covers nursing homes, assisted living, home health, and hospice. You can also contact the Capital Area ombudsman at 512-916-6054 for free, confidential advocacy.

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