Nursing Home Costs Top $84,000 a Year

The Genworth

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

• 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.