The average cost of nursing home care was about 3% higher this year than in 2006, while home health care costs were up 12%, New York Life Insurance Company reports.
The average cost of a private U.S. nursing home room with a single occupant climbed to $209 a day, or $76,322 per year, according to New York Life, New York.
CareScout, a research arm of National Eldercare Referral Systems Inc., Wellesley, Mass., compiled the figures for New York Life by gathering data from about 3,000 nursing homes in 120 metropolitan areas.
The average private room rate increased by $5.36 per day, or $1,956 per year.
The cost of a semiprivate room, with double occupancy, rose to an average of $185 a day, or $67,554 a year.
The average semi-private room rate rose by $5.27 per day, or $1,924 per year.
The hourly rate for a home health aide hired from a Medicare-certified agency is averaging $37.36 per hour, up about 12%, New York Life reports.
According to the study, the highest daily rates for private nursing home rooms in the U.S. were:
1. Alaska: $407.
2. Southern Connecticut: $348.
3. Connecticut Valley: $322.
4. Hudson Valley, New York: $318.
5. Boston area: $299.
New York Life plans to build the results of the study into the customer illustration program used by the company's LTC insurance sales force, says Dennis O'Brien, head of the company's LTC division.
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