The Difficulties of Long Term Care

Forbes contributor Howard Gleckman reports on another bad sign for our aging population: The costs of long term care are rising quickly (click here to read the whole article).  Our Chairman, Ken Connor, has been saying for years that our nation will have an incredibly hard time dealing with the coming “senior tsunami” as a massive baby boomer population ages and begins to need elderly support services.  If the costs of long term care are any indication, the troubles are beginning:

The Metlife Mature Market Institute has released its annual survey of the cost of long-term care services, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day programs, and home care. And the news is not good. On average, provider costs rose far faster than the rate of inflation. The only exceptions were home care services, where costs were unchanged from 2010 to 2011.

On average, nursing home costs rose from $229 a day for a private room in a nursing home to $239, or more than $87,000 per year. Adult day program costs rose from $67 to $70. And the average monthly cost of assisted living rose by 5.6 percent from $3,293 to $3,477, or about $42,000 annually. Keep in mind, these are costs to consumers who pay out of their own pocket or with long-term care insurance benefits. Medicaid normally pays far less.

Things are going to get worse, and $87,000/year will be too much for many seniors.  Start looking now for alternative ways to care for your aging family members – before things really begin to escalate.