Top 15 Most Expensive States for Long-Term Care: 2018

It would be tough to keep up with the price hikes for long-term care for anyone, much less those on already tight budgets.

According to Genworth’s 15^th annual Cost of Care Survey, over the last 15 years, the costs of all types of care — nursing home, adult day care, assisted living — have risen 19% to 67%. And who among us has gotten a pay raise of 67% to keep pace?

Genworth says that the “blended annual median cost of long-term care support services has increased an average of 3% from 2017 to 2018, with some care categories exceeding two to three times the 2.1% U.S. inflation rate.”

LTC Price Hikes Not Over

There’s likely more news of that variety to come, since a shortage of skilled workers is yet another force pushing prices up.

Other factors affecting the cost include more overtime (thanks in part to that scarcity of staff); higher minimum wages and changes in overtime rules; recruiting and retention challenges; issues faced by home care agencies including compliance obligations and caregiver certification issues; rising instances of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia; and the need for more specialized (and thus more expensive) care, thanks in part to people waiting too long to get care.

Private Nursing Home Room Costs Rise 54%

So it should come as no surprise that care is growing ever more expensive. Still, says Genworth, over the last 15 years of its survey, that 67% figure we mentioned earlier is how much the cost of long-term care in assisted living facilities has risen. Private nursing home rooms have gone up by 54%.

And in case you were wondering, the report says that “a private nursing home room now costs 1.6 times the national median annual household income, which was $62,685 in August 2018.”

The only good news (sort of) is that in-home care costs have stayed relatively flat over the life of the study, with price increases accelerating only recently. Home health aide costs are up 19% since 2004, while homemaker services are up 26% over the same period.

Check out the gallery above for the 15 most expensive states for long-term care.

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