The Genworth 2013 Cost of Care Survey shows that the cost of receiving care in a setting such as an assisted living facility or nursing home is dramatically increasing, while the cost to receive care at home through homemaker services or a home health aide is rising at a much more gradual pace.
Said Pat Foley, president of distribution and marketing for Genworth: “If you look at national private nursing home costs over the past 10 years that we’ve done this study, the median annual costs have gone up from $65,200 to $83,950, increasing at more than four percent a year.”
- Nationally, the 2013 median hourly cost of homemaker services and home health aide services is $18 and $19 respectively.
- Homemaker costs have risen just 1.4 percent since 2012 and 0.8 annually over the past five years.
- Home health aide services have risen 2.3 percent since 2012 and 1.0 percent annually over the past five years.
- The median annual cost for care in an assisted living facility is $41,400. This represents an increase of 4.6 percent since 2012 and a 4.3 percent annual increase over the past five years.
- The comparable cost for a private nursing home room rose 3.6 percent from 2012 to 2013, to $83,950, or 4.5 percent annualized over the past five years.
Additional Resources
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- Consumers can find out what the cost of care is in 437 regions across all 50 states by visiting Genworth’s Cost of Care website.
- Genworth’s Let’s Talk website offers tips for initiating conversations about long term care and financial planning with loved ones.
- On Genworth Celebrates Caregivers Facebook page, caregivers can have their questions about caregiving challenges answered by a professional care advocate.
- Genworth’s Caregiver Support Resource helps families make informed choices about long term care.
Genworth offers these tips.
First, the more a person knows about the cost and impact of long term care choices, the more apparent it will become that he or she needs to start planning today.
Second, Build a Team. Just as a football head coach surrounds himself with savvy coordinators who are tasked with specific coaching duties, consumers should bring in outside professionals to fill in the long term care gaps.
Third, Put It In Writing. It isn’t just identifying where the money is coming from. The plan should include a hardcopy and an electronic version of who your team is, their roles and contact information.”