Red Bluff, the Tehama County seat, still has a good number of 1880s Victorian homes, including two-story Italianate houses like the Kelly-Griggs House at 311 Washington Street. Drive Lincoln, Jefferson or Madison, the town's 'presidential streets,' and you will see plenty of original interior staircases that were never built with a stair lift in mind.
Outside Red Bluff, the county runs from the olive country around Corning to smaller places like Los Molinos, Gerber, Manton and Rancho Tehama Reserve. Across those 12 towns you find ranch-style houses, split-level homes and walk-up apartments, and each one calls for a different kind of lift. This page walks through what fits where and who can help pay for it.
Two-story Victorian and Italianate homes often have narrow period stairways, and some turn or wind on the way up. A straight stair lift works when the run goes top to bottom with no bend. If the staircase curves or has a landing partway up, a curved rail is built to follow that exact shape.
Narrow stairs are the main thing we measure for in these older houses. A folding seat and footrest help keep the stairway usable for everyone else in the home. We look at the width, the turns and where the rail can mount before suggesting a model.
Split-level homes usually have short flights between levels, sometimes more than one. Each flight may need its own straight lift, or a single curved rail if the layout allows. Ranch-style homes are mostly on one floor, but steps at the porch, garage or back door can still be a problem, and an outdoor lift or platform lift can cover those.
Walk-up apartments raise a different question, since the stairs may be shared. Renters should talk with the property owner before planning any install. With 55.3% of residents owning their homes, many households here can make that decision on their own.
The county sits along Interstate 5 on the Sacramento River floodplain, with the Coast Range foothills to the west and land rising toward Lassen Volcanic National Park to the east. Valley homes are often on flat lots, while hill properties can have steep entry steps where an outdoor lift makes sense.
Summers here often go past 100°F, and winters are mild and wet. Those conditions keep a lot of older residents inside for long stretches, so getting safely to a bedroom or bathroom on the second floor matters day to day. About 16.2% of residents are 65 or older, and many of them live in the same houses they have owned for years.
Two kinds of programs list stair lifts as covered. Medi-Cal members in Partnership HealthPlan of California may qualify for the Environmental Accessibility Adaptations benefit, which has a lifetime cap of $7,500 for home modifications. Veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities can look at the VA SAH and SHA grants.
The Tehama County Veterans Service Office in Los Molinos, at 7883 Highway 99 E, can help with VA paperwork at (530) 529-3664.
Other local programs do not pay for the lift itself but can point you to resources or cover care hours. Statewide, it is also worth asking about the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) and the FreedomTech Low-Interest Assistive Technology Loan. The full list is below.
An optional Medi-Cal managed-care benefit that covers home modifications, including stair lifts, up to a $7,500 lifetime maximum for members at risk of hospital or nursing facility care. In Tehama County it is offered at Partnership HealthPlan of California's discretion; call (800) 541-5555.
A federal grant of up to $126,526 for FY 2026 that covers stair lifts for veterans and service members with qualifying service-connected disabilities, such as loss or loss of use of limbs. Call the VA at (800) 827-1000.
A federal grant of up to $25,350 for FY 2026 that covers stair lifts and other accessibility adaptations for veterans whose service-connected disabilities do not meet the SAH threshold. Call (800) 827-1000.
A Medi-Cal waiver for people who meet nursing facility level of care; it authorizes environmental accessibility adaptations, though stair lifts are not itemized in the source and a waitlist has been active since July 2023. Call (800) 541-5555.
Serves adults generally 60 and older and their caregivers with information, Medicare counseling, meals and referrals to home-modification resources, but it does not fund stair lifts directly. Call (530) 898-5923.
An independent living center offering assistive technology and equipment guidance, housing help and peer support for people with disabilities; stair lifts are not mentioned in its listed services. Call (530) 893-8527.
Pays for in-home personal care and domestic hours for Medi-Cal eligible aged, blind or disabled residents, not for equipment or home modifications like stair lifts. Call (530) 527-7640.
Older adults
2491 Carmichael Drive, Suite 400, Chico, 95928
Veterans
7883 Highway 99 E, Los Molinos, 96055
Often, yes. Narrow period stairways in two-story Victorian homes are common in Red Bluff, and we measure width and any turns first. A straight rail fits a straight run, while a staircase with a bend or landing needs a curved rail.
It can. The Environmental Accessibility Adaptations benefit covers home modifications including stair lifts, up to $7,500 lifetime, for Partnership HealthPlan of California members at risk of hospital or nursing facility care. Call (800) 541-5555 to ask.
The Tehama County Veterans Service Office in Los Molinos can help you apply for the VA SAH or SHA grant, both of which cover stair lifts. Reach them at (530) 529-3664, or call the VA at (800) 827-1000.
Passages, the Area 3 Agency on Aging based in Chico, serves adults generally 60 and older and can refer you to home-modification resources. They do not pay for the lift. Call (530) 898-5923.
No. Tehama County IHSS pays for caregiver hours, not equipment or home modifications. It can still be useful alongside a lift paid for another way.
Entry steps at a porch, garage or sloped lot can be handled with an outdoor stair lift or a platform lift. We look at the number of steps and how the ground lies before recommending one.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
