Cost of elder care in the US continues climbing
Print Edition
THE steep cost of caring for the elderly continues to climb in the US. The median bill for a private room in a nursing home is now US$91,250 a year, according to an industry survey.
The annual “Cost of Care” report from Genworth Financial tracks the staggering rise in expenses for long-term care, a growing financial burden for families, governments and insurers like Genworth. The cost of staying in a nursing home has increased 4 percent every year over the last five years, the report says. Last year, the median bill was US$87,600.
“Most people don’t realize how expensive this care can be until a parent or family member needs it,” said Joe Caldwell, director of long-term services at the National Council on Aging.
The annual report from Genworth, which sells policies to cover long-term care, looks at costs for a variety of services, including adult daycare, and home health aides. And nursing home bills are rising at the fastest pace.
For its report, Genworth surveyed 15,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other providers across the country in January and February. It found wide differences from state to state. In Oklahoma, for instance, the median cost for a year in a nursing home came out to US$60,225. Alaska had the highest costs by far, with one year at US$281,415.
So, who pays the nursing-home bill? “A lot of people believe Medicare will step in and cover them, but that’s just not true,” said Bruce Chernoff, president and CEO of The Scan Foundation, a charitable organization. Medicare will cover some short visits for recovery after a surgery, for instance, but not long-term stays.
Caldwell described Genworth’s survey as essentially a marketing pitch. “Of course they want people to see how much it costs to sell long-term care insurance,” he said. “What they’re not telling you is that the long-term care coverage is becoming more and more unaffordable for middle-class families.”
Mounting costs have also pushed many insurers out of the business. Four of the five largest providers have either scaled back their business or stopped offering new policies. Genworth, has struggled under the weight of old policies.
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