Weakness in U.S. public and private long-term care insurance (LTCI) programs, and Americans’ retirement savings, may be hurting the long-term care (LTC) providers’ ability to pass cost increases on to consumers.
Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) has published data supporting that conclusion in a new batch of LTC cost survey data.
Analysts at the company’s CareScout unit found that the median cost of a private room in a nursing home increased just 1.2 percent between 2015 and 2016, to $253 per day.
The cost of a semiprivate room increased 2.3 percent, to $225 per day, but the median monthly rent for an apartment in an assisted living facility rose just 0.8 percent, to $3,628.
The median cost of adult day health care actually fell 1.25 percent, to $68 per day.
The cost of care varied widely from market to market. In Anchorage, Alaska, where the costs of basic necessities are especially high, the median cost of a private room in a nursing home was $303,680 per year.