Honolulu Senior AdvisorWhat questions do Oahu families ask about senior care?
Oahu families most often ask who licenses care homes, what care costs, how Med-QUEST pays for long-term care, what ARCH, E-ARCH and CCFFH mean, how to choose a home, and where to get free local help.
Each set below answers one group of questions in a sentence or two, with links to the full guides. All answers were checked against Hawaii's rules, the Department of Health's rosters and agency websites in October 2026.
Where do the answers come from?
Every answer comes from a primary source: the Hawaii Administrative Rules and Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Office of Health Care Assurance's rosters and pages, Med-QUEST and Executive Office on Aging materials, CMS, VA and CareScout.
Where a figure is not published, such as a median price for care homes, we say so instead of estimating.
Question sets
Licensing questions
Questions about how Hawaii licenses care homes, assisted living and foster family homes.
Read →Cost questions
Questions about what senior care costs on Oahu and how families pay.
Read →Med-QUEST questions
Questions about Hawaii Medicaid (Med-QUEST) and long-term care.
Read →Care home questions
Questions about adult residential care homes, expanded ARCHs and foster family homes on Oahu.
Read →Choosing care
Questions to ask when choosing senior care on Oahu.
Read →Free local help
Free agencies that help Oahu families with senior care.
Read →A few quick answers
Who licenses care homes in Hawaii?
The Hawaii Department of Health's Office of Health Care Assurance (OHCA), State Licensing Section, licenses adult residential care homes, expanded ARCHs and assisted living facilities; community care foster family homes are certified through OHCA's designee, Community Ties of America.
What is the median cost of assisted living in Hawaii?
CareScout's 2025 survey puts it at $145,065 a year, about $12,089 a month, the highest of any state.
What is Med-QUEST?
Med-QUEST is Hawaii's Medicaid program, run by the Department of Human Services' Med-QUEST Division; long-term care is delivered through QUEST Integration health plans.
What is an ARCH?
An adult residential care home: a licensed home giving 24-hour care to adults who need help with daily activities but not nursing facility care. Type I homes have five or fewer residents.
What should we ask a care home before choosing it?
Who the primary care giver is and whether they live there, who covers when they are away, what the rate includes, when a resident would have to leave, and to see the latest OHCA inspection report.
Who is the Area Agency on Aging for Oahu?
The Elderly Affairs Division of the City and County of Honolulu, (808) 768-7700.
