From the flat streets of Oxnard and Port Hueneme to the sloped lots of Thousand Oaks, Oak Park and Bell Canyon, Ventura County homes ask very different things of a stair lift. A townhouse near the coast and a split-level home on a graded hillside in the Conejo Valley rarely end up with the same rail.
This page covers the 24 towns and communities we serve in the county, how local homes and terrain shape the choice of lift, and the Medi-Cal, VA and local programs that may help with the cost. If you are helping a parent stay in the house in Simi Valley, Camarillo or Ojai, start here.
The Conejo Grade splits Ventura County into East County and West County. On the West County side, the Oxnard Plain and Pleasant Valley around Camarillo are mostly flat, and many homes there are single-family houses, townhouses and low-rise buildings.
East County and the inland valleys grew fast after the 1960s. Simi Valley went from nearly 60,000 residents in 1970 to over 100,000 within the following two decades, and that growth produced large tracts of suburban single-family homes.
Much of that inland building went onto hilly, canyon and graded-slope land in the Conejo Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains foothills and the Ojai back country. Houses on those lots often have several interior levels, so the stairs cannot be avoided by moving a bedroom downstairs.
A straight stair lift fits a single run of stairs with no turns or landings. It is the most common fit in two-story tract homes and many townhouses, and it usually goes in quickly because the rail is a standard length cut to size.
Split-level homes are a different job. Short flights between levels, landings and turns usually call for a curved rail built to the exact shape of the staircase, or a separate straight lift on each flight. We measure every run before recommending one or the other.
On sloped lots, the hardest steps are sometimes outside, between the driveway and the front door. An outdoor stair lift built for weather can handle that climb. Where a wheelchair user needs to change levels, a platform lift may be the better answer than a seat.
Ventura County has 800,631 residents, and 16.7% are 65 or older. With 63.3% of households owning their home, many older residents plan to stay put in houses they bought decades ago, stairs included.
That matters because two VA grants can cover stair or platform lifts for veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities. The Ventura County Veteran Services Office in Oxnard, at (805) 477-5155, can help with the paperwork.
Medi-Cal is the main public route. The Environmental Accessibility Adaptations benefit, offered through Gold Coast Health Plan in Ventura County, lists stair lifts as a covered item with a lifetime maximum of $7,500 per member. The HCBA Waiver also covers environmental accessibility adaptations when they are approved as medically necessary.
For veterans, the VA Specially Adapted Housing grant goes up to $126,526 and the Special Home Adaptation grant up to $25,350 for FY 2026. Both are applied for with VA Form 26-4555.
Not sure where to start? The Ventura County Area Agency on Aging at (805) 477-7300 does not pay for stair lifts itself, but it can point adults 60 and older and their caregivers toward MSSP and Medi-Cal options. Each program is summarized below.
A Medi-Cal managed-care home modification benefit that explicitly covers stair lifts, up to a $7,500 lifetime maximum, for members at risk of hospitalization or nursing-facility placement. In Ventura County it runs through Gold Coast Health Plan; the program phone listed is (855) 427-1223.
A Medi-Cal waiver for people who qualify for nursing-facility level of care, and it covers environmental accessibility adaptations such as stair lifts when approved as medically necessary. Call (916) 552-9105.
Care management for Medi-Cal eligible adults 60 and older who could qualify for nursing-facility placement, run locally through the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging. It can fund environmental accessibility adaptations, but stair lifts are not listed; call (805) 477-7300.
An information and referral hub for adults 60 and older, people with disabilities and caregivers. It does not pay for stair lifts but can connect you with Medi-Cal EAA or MSSP; call (805) 477-7300.
Pays for in-home caregiver hours for Medi-Cal eligible people who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled. It does not cover stair lifts or home modifications; call (805) 306-7935.
A VA grant of up to $126,526 (FY 2026) for homeowner veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities, and stair lifts and platform lifts can qualify within an approved adaptation plan. Call (800) 827-1000.
A smaller VA grant of up to $25,350 (FY 2026) that can cover stair or platform lifts for veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities, including in a home owned by a family member. Call (800) 827-1000.
Subsidized repairs for homeowners earning below 80% of the Ventura County median, including walk-in showers and grab bars. Stair lifts are not listed; call (805) 485-6065.
Federally funded rehabilitation loans and grants for low- and moderate-income owner-occupants in unincorporated areas and participating cities such as Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula and Ventura. Stair lifts are not listed among covered items.
Older adults
646 County Square Drive, Suite 100, Ventura, 93003
Veterans
2000 Outlet Center Drive, Suite C‑220, Oxnard, 93036
Usually, yes. Split-level homes often need a curved rail made to fit the turns and landings, or a straight lift on each short flight. We measure each staircase before recommending one.
It can. The Environmental Accessibility Adaptations benefit lists stair lifts as covered, up to a $7,500 lifetime maximum, for Gold Coast Health Plan members who meet the medical-need rules. The HCBA Waiver also covers these adaptations when approved as medically necessary.
MSSP and the Area Agency on Aging focus on adults 60 and older, but the Medi-Cal EAA benefit and the HCBA Waiver are based on medical need rather than age. IHSS serves people who are blind or disabled as well as those 65 and older, though it does not pay for stair lifts.
Veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities may use the Specially Adapted Housing grant, up to $126,526, or the Special Home Adaptation grant, up to $25,350, for FY 2026. The Ventura County Veteran Services Office in Oxnard at (805) 477-5155 can help you apply.
Outdoor stair lifts are built for exterior steps like the ones on many sloped lots in the Conejo Valley and foothill communities. For a wheelchair user, a platform lift may be the better fit.
The Ventura County Area Agency on Aging at (805) 477-7300 acts as a referral gateway and can point you toward Medi-Cal EAA or MSSP.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
