Long term care costs have flattened out or increased only modestly this year.
Researchers at the MetLife Mature Market Institute, Westport, Conn., an affiliate of MetLife Inc., New York, have reported data supporting that conclusion in a summary of its latest LTC provider survey.
Researchers found that average daily rates for a private room in a nursing home in 2008 have fallen 0.5% between 2007 and 2008, to $212.
For a semiprivate room, the average daily rate has increased 1.1%, to $191.
Assisted living community costs have increased 2.1%, to $3,031.
The highest nursing home costs were reported for Alaska, which had an average daily nursing home rate of $577 for a private room and $566 for a semiprivate room.