Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Asheville: What CCRCs Are and What to Know Before You Sign
A continuing care retirement community — CCRC, or Life Plan Community in newer industry terminology — is the most comprehensive option in the senior living continuum. One campus, one contract, and theoretically a home for life across every level of care. The appeal is real, and so are the financial commitments involved.
This guide explains how CCRCs work, the different contract types and what they mean financially, what to investigate before signing, and how to evaluate the options available in the Asheville area.
A CCRC is a residential campus that encompasses multiple levels of care — independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing — in one location. Residents typically enter at the independent living level and have a contractual right to move to higher levels of care as their needs change, often without relocating to a different community.
The core promise of a CCRC is continuity: you make one decision about where to live, build a community and relationships there, and have the security of knowing that if your needs increase, your care can increase too without requiring a disruptive move to an unfamiliar setting. For couples, it also means that both partners can remain on the same campus even if their care needs diverge.
Beyond the care continuum, CCRCs typically offer:
- Dining programs (often restaurant-style with multiple venues)
- Fitness and wellness centers, often with pools and exercise programming
- Arts studios, libraries, and lecture and performance programming
- Outdoor spaces, walking paths, and in some cases gardening areas
- Transportation services
- On-site healthcare coordination and sometimes physician access
The financial structure of a CCRC is governed by the contract type, and the differences are significant. All three involve an upfront entrance fee and monthly fees, but what those fees cover — and what happens to the money — varies substantially.
The most comprehensive and most expensive contract. A higher upfront entrance fee covers essentially unlimited access to higher levels of care (assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing) at the same or similar monthly rate as independent living. The community absorbs the additional cost of care. Type A contracts provide the most financial certainty over a long and potentially high-need life — but require the largest upfront commitment and depend heavily on the financial health of the community.
A middle-ground contract. A lower entrance fee provides access to higher levels of care at a discounted rate compared to market pricing, but the resident pays more as care needs increase. Monthly fees rise when moving to assisted living or skilled nursing, but at a rate below what a non-resident would pay. Type B contracts balance upfront cost with some protection against escalating care costs.
The lowest entrance fee, but the resident pays market rate for each level of care if and when their needs increase. This contract provides campus access and community without financial protection against rising care costs. It makes most sense for people who expect to remain in independent living for many years, have significant assets to cover future care costs, or have long-term care insurance that would cover the higher rates.
A CCRC contract is one of the largest financial commitments most families make in later life. It warrants careful review — ideally with the help of a financial advisor and an elder law attorney familiar with CCRC contracts.
- Request audited financial statements for the last three years. North Carolina requires CCRCs to file annual disclosure statements with the state. Review them for operating surpluses or deficits, debt load, occupancy rates, and reserve fund levels. A community with high debt, declining occupancy, or thin reserves is a risk.
- Understand the monthly fee increase history. Ask for the history of monthly fee increases over the past five to ten years. Annual increases of 3 to 5 percent are common; higher rates or irregular spikes deserve explanation.
- Read the contract’s termination provisions. What happens if you need to leave? What are the conditions under which the community can terminate the contract? What are the notice requirements on each side?
- Ask about the community’s care philosophy and staffing. A CCRC’s promise of lifelong care is only as good as the quality of care in its higher-acuity settings. Tour the assisted living and skilled nursing wings specifically, not just the independent living apartments.
- Confirm Medicaid acceptance in the skilled nursing component. Some CCRC skilled nursing components accept Medicaid if a resident’s assets are depleted; others do not and may require the resident to leave. This matters significantly for long-term financial planning.
CCRCs are not the right fit for everyone, and the financial commitment is large enough that the question deserves honest consideration rather than assumption.
A CCRC tends to make the most sense when: a person is entering in good health and expects to use the independent living community actively for many years; the continuity of a single campus is a high priority; financial assets are sufficient to cover the entrance fee without depleting resources needed for other purposes; and the specific community’s culture, programming, and care quality genuinely matches the person’s values and interests.
For someone who primarily needs assisted living now, or who has limited assets, or who would rather pay for care as needed without a large upfront commitment, the CCRC model may not be the best fit regardless of the campus quality.
The Council on Aging of Buncombe County can provide unbiased guidance on whether a CCRC makes sense given your family’s specific situation and help identify which local options warrant a closer look: (828) 277-8288.
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