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Average Cost of Nursing Home Room Tops $70,000 a Year

June 1, 2012 in News

As we all know, nursing homes and in-home health care are expensive! This astounding article provided by Elder Law Answers shows just how much it will cost you or a loved one for long term care. At the Elder Law Center of Kirson & Fuller we can help ease your mind, and your wallets, by providing Asset Protection and Medicaid Planning.

The average daily cost of a private room in a nursing home in the United States is $70,080 a year, or $192 a day, according to the 2004 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home and Home Care Costs. This is a more than $4,000 annual increase over last year, when the average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home was $66,065 a year, or $181 a day, according to MetLife. The survey also reports on the cost of a semi-private room, which now averages $169 a day, or $61,685 a year. The highest rates for a private room in 2005 were reported in the state of Alaska where the cost is $204,765 a year or $561 a day on average. The lowest rates were found in Shreveport, Louisiana, at $36,135 a year or $99 a day. The average length of stay in a nursing home for current residents is 2.4 years, which makes the average cost of a nursing home stay approximately $168,192. The study also found that the cost of a home health care aide averaged $18 an hour nationally. Home health care is most expensive in Hartford, Connecticut, at $28 an hour and least expensive in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi, where rates average $13 an hour. More than 1.3 million patients received home health care services from 7,200 agencies in 2000, with more than half receiving help with at least one activity of daily living. Seven in ten patients were ages 65 and older, and 65 percent were women, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. “The cost of long-term care continues to rise,” said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. “Whether one chooses care at home or care in a nursing home, the costs can be exorbitant. As people prepare for their retirement and assess their asset and income requirements, it is also essential that they plan for the possibility that they will need assistance with day-to-day living. Unanticipated long-term care costs can derail an individual’s financial plan; long-term care insurance may be a solution,” said Timmermann. For a list of average daily nursing home and home health costs in selected cities, click here. MetLife has also released its 2004 Market Survey of Assisted Living Costs. For an article on that survey, click here.

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