Price rollbacks throughout the U.S. economy during the past year did not apply to long-term care service providers, according to the 2009 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs. Private room nursing home rates rose 3.3 percent to $79,935 a year or $219 a day, while assisted living also climbed 3.3 percent on average to $37,572 a year or $3,131 a month.
Home health care aides now cost an average of $21 per hour, a 5 percent jump, and adult day care services now average $67 per day, a 4.7 percent increase over 2008.
The survey also reports on the cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home, which increased 4 percent to $198 a day, or $72,270 a year. The cost of a semi-private room in an Alzheimer’s wing averages $75,920 annually.
Once again, the highest rates for a private nursing home room in 2009 were found in Alaska, where the cost is $584 a day on average. The lowest rates were found in Louisiana (with the exception of Baton Rouge and the Shreveport area), at $132 a day.
For the full 2009 report, including listings of average long-term care costs in selected cities, click here.
