The Rise Of Nursing Home Costs In 2017

If you’ve been looking into the costs of nursing homes for a parent or loved one, you understand just how difficult it can be to strike the right balance between affordability and quality. In addition to the stress of worrying about finding a facility that offers the best possible care, you also have to worry about the ever-increasing costs. Below, you’ll find some information that was pulled directly from the Genworth survey. This information was compiled from phone surveys of 15,000+ assisted living facilities, nursing homes, home care providers, and adult day care facilities.

The Rise Of Nursing Home Costs

According to the Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey for 2017, a private room in a nursing home has increased 5.5 percent from 2016 to a median cost of $97,455 per year. Even the price of a semi-private room has increased drastically: in 2017 the median cost rose to $85,775 per year.

These increases are surprisingly high, especially when you go back another year when the percentages increased only 1.24 percent for a private room, and 2.27 percent for a semi-private room.

The increases don’t stop at nursing home care, though. Assisted living facilities saw a jump of 3.36 percent to a median rate of $3,750 a month, home health aides saw an average increase from $20 per hour to $22 per hour, and adult day care costs rose from a median of $68 per day to $70.

Location Matters

Depending on where your family member is, the costs associated with his or her care can differ dramatically. In Oklahoma, where prices are the lowest, the median price for a private room in a nursing home is approximately $63,510, while a private room in Alaska will cost $292,000. If the person in need of care lives in a very expensive state, it might make sense to move him or her (as long as health conditions permit) to a nursing home closer to you. Not only will you save some money, you’ll also be able to spend more time with your loved one.

To find more information about the costs of care, view the results of the Genworth survey, here.

Contact us at Safe Harbor Wills & Trusts in Watertown and Syracuse if you would like information on how to protect your family member’s assets when it is time for him or her to enter a nursing home or assisted living facility. Our firm is dedicated to asset protection, planning for long-term care, wills, estate planning, and probate.