Elder Law Answers has recently written about this year's Genworth study concerning the costs of nursing home care in "Nursing Home Care Costs Are Only Slightly Higher in 2016." The report contains some good news and some bad news.
Nursing home costs are higher in 2016 than they were in 2015. However, costs rose less dramatically than they did from 2014 to 2015.
In 2016 the average cost of a private room is $92,378 a year, which is an increase of 1.24%. Semi-private rooms cost $82,175, which is an increase of 2.27% from 2015. Both increases are lower than last year when costs rose 4.2% and 3.8%, respectively.
Other costs, such as assisted living facilities and home health aides also rose slightly in 2016. However, the cost of adult day care actually decreased.
One troubling aspect of the study is that Americans continue to underestimate the costs of long term care by as much as 50%. However, that is just an average. A total of 30% of Americans believe that long-term nursing home care will cost less than $417 a month, which is not even a quarter of the monthly cost for a home health aide.
Contact an elder law attorney about your options for long term care and how best to prepare to pay the costs.
Reference: Elder Law Answers (May 12, 2016) "Nursing Home Care Costs Are Only Slightly Higher in 2016."