Texas senior care, answered
Plain answers, with the state’s own sources.
Eight questions I hear every week from home owners, discharge planners and families in greater Houston. Each page gives the direct answer first, then the steps, then every law and fee linked to the government page it came from. I am not a lawyer and none of it is legal advice; it is what the state says, made readable. Updated October 7, 2026.
For home owners
Does a small assisted living home in Texas need a fire sprinkler system?
Whether a 16-or-fewer-bed assisted living home in Texas needs a fire sprinkler system: the statewide HHSC rule for Type A and Type B homes, what your city fire marshal adds, and who may install it.
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How do I get licensed as a Type B assisted living home in Texas, step by step?
The seven HHSC steps to a Type B assisted living license in Texas: pre-licensure course, TULIP application, the $300 plus $15 per bed fee, Life Safety Code and health inspections, and the 120-day deadlines.
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How do I stay survey-ready when the State is coming?
HHSC's own fiscal year 2024 list of the most-cited assisted living violations, the five that are paperwork, each with its 26 TAC 553 cite, and the binders that make a Texas home survey-ready.
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How do I build a referral network for my home instead of depending on one placement agent?
How a 6 to 16 bed Texas care home builds its own referral sources, from the HHSC directory to discharge planners and peers, and the disclosure, notice and contract duties Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 121 puts on placement advisors.
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For discharge planners and advisors
How do placement advisors get paid in Texas, and what must they disclose?
Who pays a senior placement advisor in Texas, what Business and Commerce Code Chapter 121 (SB 1383, 2025) makes them disclose in writing, what they may not do, and the questions a family or discharge planner should ask.
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Who has availability in my city? How a discharge planner gets a same-day shortlist of licensed homes
How a hospital or rehab discharge planner in Texas turns 'who has availability in my city' into a license-checked shortlist the same day: the HHSC directory, the four facts every home must answer, and Erika's intake.
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For families
Does Medicare cover assisted living in Texas, and how do families usually pay?
Medicare does not pay for assisted living. How Texas families pay instead: private funds, long-term care insurance, Texas Medicaid STAR+PLUS, and VA Aid and Attendance, each sourced to the agency's own page.
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I don't know where to start: the first three calls to make when a parent needs more care
The three calls to make, in order, when a parent in Texas suddenly needs more care: the doctor or discharge planner, the money, and a placement advisor who puts the Chapter 121 disclosure in writing.
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Did not find your question?
Call me at 346-546-5654 or email admin@seniorliving.expert. Families and discharge planners can start the conversation; home owners can list a home.