Costs for elder care increase for fifth consecutive year, study finds

Costs for nursing homes, assisted living facilities and some in-home care services have increased for a fifth consecutive year and might continue to increase as a result of an expected shortage of long-term health care workers, according to a study released on Tuesday by Genworth Financial, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

For the study, researchers examined data from more than 10,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in-home care providers nationwide.

The study found that private rooms in a nursing home this year on average cost $76,460 annually, or $209 daily, a 17% increase from $65,185 in 2004. In addition, the study found that assisted living facilities this year on average cost $36,090 annually, a 25% increase from $28,763 in 2004. The study also found that Medicare-certified home health aides this year on average cost $38 per hour and that the cost has increased by 7% annually over the past four years. Non-Medicare certified in-home care providers this year on average cost $18 per hour for homemaker services and $19 per hour for home health aide services, about the same as in 2004, the study found.

Buck Stinson, president of the long-term care insurance business at Genworth, said the study indicates that the "expense of just a few years of long-term care in a facility or at home can very quickly wipe out a lifetime of savings." He added that baby boomers "need to do more thinking about their own retirement plan and how they're going to age."

A companion study released by Genworth found that low wages and benefits, as well as a lack of training and career-advancement potential, have led to problems with recruitment and retention of employees in the elder care industry. Stinson cited a need to "recruit close to 200,000 people a year to keep pace with the aging demographic." In addition, the companion study found that adult day health care this year on average cost $15,000 annually, or $59 daily (Alt Powell, AP/Houston Chronicle, 4/29).

The studies are available online.