By Memphis Senior Advisor Care Team · September 16, 2026
TennCare CHOICES Groups 2 and 3 cover Assisted Care Living Facility services, but the member pays room and board from their own income. Whether that works depends on the facility's CHOICES room-and-board rate and on the member's monthly income, which TennCare caps at $2,982 in 2026 unless a Qualifying Income Trust is used.
What CHOICES pays for in an ACLF, and what it does not
Tennessee is one of the states where Medicaid can help with assisted living. TennCare's CHOICES benefit table lists Assisted Care Living Facility services for Groups 2 and 3: help with personal care, homemaker services and medications, billed one unit per day. The same table is explicit about the limit: the member must pay for room and board.
Group 2 is for people who meet nursing facility level of care but choose home and community-based services; Group 3 is for people at risk of needing a nursing home, and TennCare says it has an enrollment target of 3,750 for people who do not receive SSI. In practice, most CHOICES members in Memphis-area ACLFs are in Group 2.
How the money flows
The CHOICES health plan (BlueCare, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan or Wellpoint) pays the facility for the care. The member pays the facility for the apartment and food. Because the member lives in the community, TennCare lets them keep a larger personal needs allowance than a nursing home resident; the rule caps it at 300% of the SSI federal benefit rate, which is the same $2,982 a month as the income limit for 2026.
In plain terms: if a parent's income is under the cap, essentially all of it can go toward room and board and personal costs, and the CHOICES plan covers the care services. The question is whether the facility's room-and-board charge for CHOICES members fits inside that income.
| Monthly income | Under the 2026 cap? | What it can cover |
|---|---|---|
| $1,400 | Yes | $1,400 a month available for room, board and personal costs |
| $1,800 | Yes | $1,800 a month available for room, board and personal costs |
| $2,200 | Yes | $2,200 a month available for room, board and personal costs |
| $2,600 | Yes | $2,600 a month available for room, board and personal costs |
| $2,982 | Yes | $2,982 a month available for room, board and personal costs |
We do not publish room-and-board rates, because they are set by each facility and change. Ask every Memphis ACLF two questions in writing: do you accept CHOICES members through my parent's health plan, and what do you charge CHOICES members for room and board?
Three common Memphis scenarios
A widowed parent with $1,500 a month in Social Security and $40,000 in savings is in a hard spot today: savings must come down to $2,000 before TennCare eligibility, and $1,500 may not cover a facility's room-and-board rate. The realistic paths are a lower-cost ACLF that accepts CHOICES, CHOICES care at home, or a small home for the aged paid privately.
A parent with $2,400 a month and a paid-off house has more room. The house does not count toward the $2,000 resource limit while it is the home, though selling it changes that. With planning, Group 2 and a participating ACLF can work.
A parent with $3,400 a month is over the income cap. TennCare's CHOICES page notes that a Qualifying Income Trust may make the person eligible. Get an elder law attorney involved before applying.
Where to start
People not yet on TennCare call the Aging Commission of the Mid-South at (901) 222-4111, whose Information and Assistance staff screen for CHOICES. Current TennCare members call their health plan. Start the conversation months before savings run low; the timing of the application and the choice of facility are linked.
How CHOICES and the facility's own rules interact
Being eligible for CHOICES does not obligate a particular facility to accept a resident. Each ACLF decides whether to contract with TennCare's health plans, and some limit how many CHOICES residents they serve. The facility also applies Tennessee's admission rules: the resident must be able to evacuate, cannot need continuous nursing care, and, if they meet nursing facility level of care, needs a physician's written certification that the ACLF can meet their needs.
In practice, that means two parallel checklists. One is TennCare's: medical eligibility, financial eligibility and enrollment with a health plan. The other is the facility's: an assessment, a CHOICES contract with that plan, an available apartment and an agreed room-and-board rate. Families who work both lists at once avoid the common trap of being approved for CHOICES with nowhere ready to use it.
Budgeting the month in practice
Once a parent is on CHOICES in an ACLF, the monthly budget usually has three pieces: the room-and-board payment to the facility, personal costs such as clothing, haircuts, phone and transportation, and any health insurance premiums or copays not covered elsewhere. Write those down before move-in. If the room-and-board rate would leave nothing for personal costs, the arrangement is fragile, and a lower-cost facility or a different plan may be safer.
Rates can change, too. Tennessee requires an ACLF to give 30 days' notice before changing its fee schedule, but a notice does not make an unaffordable increase affordable. Ask how the facility has handled rate changes for CHOICES residents in the past.
Alternatives when the gap cannot be closed
If no participating ACLF's room-and-board rate fits a parent's income, CHOICES still offers other paths. Community Living Supports, a small shared-home model, also requires the member to pay room and board but may cost less. CHOICES personal care visits, adult day care and respite can support a parent at home or with family. And if nursing-level care is needed, CHOICES Group 1 pays for nursing home care, where the resident keeps a $50 monthly personal needs allowance.
A note on timing
CHOICES enrollment, financial approval and a facility's contract with the member's health plan all take time. Start the screening call to the Aging Commission of the Mid-South before savings fall to the $2,000 limit, so the paperwork is ready when eligibility begins rather than weeks after.
Frequently asked questions
Does TennCare pay for assisted living in Memphis?
TennCare CHOICES pays for ACLF services for eligible Group 2 and 3 members in participating facilities. The member pays room and board.
What is the TennCare income limit for 2026?
$2,982 a month, three times the SSI federal benefit rate of $994. A Qualifying Income Trust can help people above it.
Do all Memphis ACLFs accept CHOICES?
No. Ask each facility whether it participates with your parent's TennCare health plan.
Who helps with a CHOICES application?
The Aging Commission of the Mid-South at (901) 222-4111 for people not yet on TennCare; current members call their health plan.
