Increasing Long-Term Care Costs: 2017 Survey

Findings of a new report, the Genworth 2017 Cost of Care Survey, was just released by Genworth Financial. The findings: the median annual cost of a private room in a nursing home is $97,455 ($8,121/month); a semi-private room is $85,775 per year ($7,148/month); a home health aide costs about $49,000 per year ($4,099/month) and that is, on average, only for 44 hours per week. Home care showed the greatest increase this year. Adult day care in the United States averages $18,200 each year ($1,517/month).

With an aging and unprepared population for long-term care needs, long-term care insurance is becoming a crucial option. Who will pay the average annual cost of a room in a nursing home? The complicated answer is elusive regarding federal coverage of long-term care. Will Medicare or Medicaid cover the bills? Apparently most Americans believe, incorrectly, that the government will cover most or all of the cost – and the cost keeps going up.

Medicare does not cover nursing home care except for limited stays after a hospital admission of three days or more. Nor does Medicare pay for in-home care if it’s not skilled nursing care. Although Medicaid rules are different for every state, generally an individual must have $2,000 or less in assets ($3,000 for a couple) before he or she can be eligible for Medicaid. The Genworth long-term care price figures were calculated from surveys filled out by more than 15,000 long-term care providers including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home care agencies and adult day facilities. Because the rules are so complex, you may want to find additional information about Medicare and Medicaid and long-term care on our website.  You can find the survey results on Genworth.com