Thursday, December 6, 2012

Long Term Care Reality

If you are among the millions of Americans over age 60 who are exploring long-term care options, the news is troubling.  The average rates for long-term care service in the United States are continuing to rise, according to a new survey.  MetLife has conducted the survey for 10 consecutive years. 
Long term care is the help someone would need who can no longer perform daily activities such as eating, bathing or dressing. This care can be received at home or in an assisted living facility, adult day care center or a nursing home. Most individuals recognized the need to prepare for the cost of long term care, but were largely unprepared. Many Americans surveyed also wrongly believed they had insurance protection, felt that their savings would be adequate to cover long term care costs, and incorrectly believed that Medicare would cover long term care costs.
Findings show that the average cost of semi-private room in a nursing home rose nearly 4% in 2012, from $214 daily (or $78,110 annually) in 2011, to $222 daily (or $81,030 annually).  During the same time period, basic rates for assisted living facilities went up 2.1% from $3,477 monthly (or $41,724 annually) to $3,550 monthly (or $42600 annually). 

Only rates for home health aides and adult day services remained unchanged year to year. 

The survey finds the five year trend in annual cost for a private room in a nursing home increased an average of 4% per year.  The cost for a semi private room increased nearly as much at 3.8%.  Assisted living costs increased the most during the period, at an annual average of 4.1% annually over the past five years, while the average cost of adult day services rose 2.3%.  The five year average annual cost increase for home health aide services was 1.3%.

Most expensive/ least expensive – for the most part, Oklahoma had the lowest private room nursing rate in 2012, averaging $147 per day.  Texas, with the exception of Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, had the lowest rates for a semi private room in a nursing home at $131 per day.  As in the past, the highest rates were in Alaska, at $687 for a private room and $682 for a semi-private room.  For assisted living communities, Arkansas was found to have the lowest average base rate and Washington, DC had the highest.

According to the Census Bureau, in 2011, 66% of nursing home residents were women.  The median age of residents was 82.6 years.  Over half (56%) of the nursing homes surveyed provide Alzheimer’s or dementia care.

Current estimates indicate the average age of an assisted living resident is 86.4 years old. 

The National Adult Day Services Association estimates there are more than 5,000 adult day centers in the United States serving over 260,000 participants and family caregivers.  More than 75% of those surveyed are open Monday through Friday; 7% are also open on Saturdays and 11% are open seven days a week.

Despite the aging U.S. population with increasing longevity, and spiraling long term care (LTC) costs, according to a different survey of 1,000 people ages 21 to 75 - Americans are less worried today than they were roughly a decade ago about needing and paying for LTC. Long term care is difficult for Americans to think about - in fact, the survey suggests that people are in denial, taking a chance they won't need care or just ignoring the fact that they might.


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