by By Matthew Craft
In this Feb. 28, 2013, file photo, Tina Reese leads a word game for residents at a nursing home in Lancaster, Pa. The cost of staying in a nursing home has increased 4 percent every year over the last five years, according to Genworth Financial's annual "Cost of Care" report, released Thursday, April 9, 2015. Last year, the median bill was $87,600. (AP Photo/Intelligencer Journal, Dan Marschka, File)
The steep cost of caring for the elderly continues to climb. The median bill for a private room in a nursing home is now $91,250 a year, according to an industry survey out Thursday.
The annual "Cost of Care" report from Genworth Financial tracks the staggering rise in expenses for long-term care, a growing financial burden for families, governments and insurers like Genworth. The cost of staying in a nursing home has increased 4 percent every year over the last five years, the report says. Last year, the median bill was $87,600.
"Most people don't realize how expensive this care can be until a parent or family member needs it," said Joe Caldwell, director of long-term services at the National Council on Aging. "And then it's a real shock."
The annual report from Genworth, which sells policies to cover long-term care, looks at costs for a variety of services, including adult daycare, and home health aides. And it's nursing home bills that are rising at the fastest pace, double the rate of U.S. inflation over the last five years. One year in a nursing home now costs nearly as much as three years of tuition at a private college.
For its report, Genworth surveyed 15,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other providers across the country in January and February. It found wide differences from state to state. In Oklahoma, for instance, the median cost for a year in a nursing home came out to $60,225. In Connecticut, it was $158,775. Alaska had the highest costs by far, with one year at $281,415.
So, who pays the nursing-home bill? "A lot of people believe Medicare will step in and cover them, but that's just not true," said Bruce Chernoff, president and CEO of The Scan Foundation, a charitable organization. Medicare will cover some short visits for recovery after a surgery, for instance, not long-term stays.
Often enough, people wind up spending their savings until the last $2,000, and at that point Medicaid, the government's health insurance for the poor, starts covering the bill.
Less-intensive care remains much cheaper than staying at a nursing home, according to Genworth's survey. One year in in an assisted-living facility runs $43,200. A year of visits from an agency's home health aides runs $45,760.
Explore further: High nursing home bills squeeze insurers, driving rates up
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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by By Matthew Craft
In this Feb. 28, 2013, file photo, Tina Reese leads a word game for residents at a nursing home in Lancaster, Pa. The cost of staying in a nursing home has increased 4 percent every year over the last five years, according to Genworth Financial's annual "Cost of Care" report, released Thursday, April 9, 2015. Last year, the median bill was $87,600. (AP Photo/Intelligencer Journal, Dan Marschka, File)
The steep cost of caring for the elderly continues to climb. The median bill for a private room in a nursing home is now $91,250 a year, according to an industry survey out Thursday.
The annual "Cost of Care" report from Genworth Financial tracks the staggering rise in expenses for long-term care, a growing financial burden for families, governments and insurers like Genworth. The cost of staying in a nursing home has increased 4 percent every year over the last five years, the report says. Last year, the median bill was $87,600.
"Most people don't realize how expensive this care can be until a parent or family member needs it," said Joe Caldwell, director of long-term services at the National Council on Aging. "And then it's a real shock."
The annual report from Genworth, which sells policies to cover long-term care, looks at costs for a variety of services, including adult daycare, and home health aides. And it's nursing home bills that are rising at the fastest pace, double the rate of U.S. inflation over the last five years. One year in a nursing home now costs nearly as much as three years of tuition at a private college.
For its report, Genworth surveyed 15,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other providers across the country in January and February. It found wide differences from state to state. In Oklahoma, for instance, the median cost for a year in a nursing home came out to $60,225. In Connecticut, it was $158,775. Alaska had the highest costs by far, with one year at $281,415.
So, who pays the nursing-home bill? "A lot of people believe Medicare will step in and cover them, but that's just not true," said Bruce Chernoff, president and CEO of The Scan Foundation, a charitable organization. Medicare will cover some short visits for recovery after a surgery, for instance, not long-term stays.
Often enough, people wind up spending their savings until the last $2,000, and at that point Medicaid, the government's health insurance for the poor, starts covering the bill.
Less-intensive care remains much cheaper than staying at a nursing home, according to Genworth's survey. One year in in an assisted-living facility runs $43,200. A year of visits from an agency's home health aides runs $45,760.
Explore further: High nursing home bills squeeze insurers, driving rates up
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
High nursing home bills squeeze insurers, driving rates up
Thirty years ago, insurance companies had the answer to the soaring cost of caring for the elderly. Plan ahead and buy a policy that will cover your expenses.
Study assesses hospice use in and out of nursing homes and by patients in transition
As hospice for nursing home patients grows dramatically, a new study from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research compares the characteristics of hospice patients in nursing homes with ...
Less futile end-of-life care observed where palliative care knowledge is greater
When a nursing home patient is dying, aggressive interventions such as inserting a feeding tube or sending the patient to the emergency room can futilely exacerbate, rather than relieve, their distress. Palliative ...
Report: Rural hospitals get billions in extra Medicare funds
A law that allows rural hospitals to bill Medicare for rehabilitation services for seniors at higher rates than nursing homes and other facilities has led to billions of dollars in extra government spending, federal investigators ...
Nursing home care may be out of reach for many aging 'boomers': study
(HealthDay)—With higher rates of illness but fewer adult children to care for them, many of America's baby boom generation may find themselves unable to pay for the nursing home care they need, a new study ...
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A mother's genes can influence the bacteria in her baby's gut
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Choice of protein and carbohydrate-rich foods may have big effects on long-term weight gain
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Every year, 300,000 pregnant women and 2,600,000 newborn babies are estimated to die worldwide, and more than 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries. Effective interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality ...
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Steven Graf '15 (BUS) couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen in Ghana after a May 2013 trip there with Global Brigades, a student organization that focuses on helping developing countries.
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