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How to Verify a Facility's License

The state tools that show license status and inspection history, and why a clean review page means nothing about the regulatory record.

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Home›State Rules›How to Verify a Facility's License

How to check a community's record yourself

Short answer

New York publishes Adult Care Facility and nursing home license status and inspection history free, through NYS Health Profiles.

To reach NYSDOH directly for a Staten Island / NYC facility, the Metropolitan Area Regional Office -- New York City (MARO-NYC), 90 Church Street, New York, NY 10007, handles Adult Care Facilities complaints at (212) 417-5990 and nursing home complaints at (212) 417-4999 (statewide nursing-home hotline: 1-888-201-4563).

Source: NYSDOH regional offices

What to actually look at once you are in there

Pulling the record is easy. Reading it usefully is the part nobody explains.

  • Match the license type to your parent's needs, not just to today. Ask directly about admission and retention criteria.
  • Check the licensee name against the operator. Ownership turns over regularly, and buildings are often marketed under a brand that differs from the license holder.
  • Read deficiency narratives, do not count citations. A missing signature and an injured resident can appear in the same document, formatted identically.
  • Look for repetition across surveys. One citation is an incident. The same finding across consecutive surveys is a pattern.

Questions families ask

Is ACA Medicaid expansion the same thing as long-term care Medicaid for seniors?

No. New York fully expanded Medicaid under the ACA effective January 1, 2014, covering adults 19-64 up to 138% of the federal poverty level with no asset test. Long-term care Medicaid for seniors uses a completely separate pathway -- the non-MAGI aged/blind/disabled test -- which is asset-tested and has its own spousal protection rules.

What is New York's nursing home Personal Needs Allowance, and why is it so low?

New York's nursing home resident Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) is $50 per month -- unchanged since the 1980s, and among the lowest in the country; 33 states pay more, in a $52-$200 range. A 2024 state senate bill proposed raising it to $128, but it has not been enacted, and the PNA remains $50/month.

What are New York's 2026 spousal impoverishment protections?

For 2026, New York's Community Spouse Resource Allowance runs from a state minimum of $74,820 up to a federal maximum of $162,660 (the community spouse keeps the greater of the state minimum or half of countable resources, up to the federal max), with a Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance of $4,066.50/month, per NYSDOH GIS 26 MA/03.

What is the NYC-region MLTC special income standard, and does it apply to Staten Island?

Yes -- the NYC-region MLTC special income standard for housing expenses is $1,790/month, effective January 1, 2026, per NYSDOH GIS 26 MA/03. This applies to Staten Island because Richmond County is part of the New York City region for MLTC purposes, distinct from Long Island's separate $1,701 figure.

What does assisted living cost on Staten Island?

There is no published Staten Island-specific figure. The 2025 CareScout Cost of Care Survey publishes a New York STATE median of $7,110/month for a private one-bedroom assisted living unit -- a statewide figure, not a New York City or Staten Island number, and local pricing in the city likely runs higher.

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