Survey details SNF, ALF rates

The cost of long-term care has been increasing among all providers, according to Genworth’s 2014 Cost of Care Survey, but the cost of facility-based care has grown at a “much greater rate” than has the cost of home care.

Nationally, the long-term care (LTC) insurance provider’s research found, the median monthly rate at assisted living facilities (ALFs) is $3,500 (range, $750 to $10,412), a 1.45 percent increase over 2013. The annual growth rate over five years has been 4.29 percent.

The median annual cost for ALFs, based on one-bedroom single occupancy rates, averages $42,000 and ranges from a low of $30,000 in Georgia and Missouri to a high of $82,674 in Washington, D.C. (coming in at second place are Delaware and Alaska, at $66,000).

For semi-private rooms in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), the national median daily rate is $212 (range, $94 to $800), an increase of 2.62 percent over 2013. The five-year annual growth rate is 3.91 percent.

The median annual cost for semi-private rooms in nursing homes is $77,380 and ranges from a low of $50,735 in Texas to a high of $237,250 in Alaska (the cost in second-place Connecticut is $142,168).

For a private room in a nursing home, the national median daily rate is $240 (range, $104 to $954). Median annual costs are $87,600 and range from a low of $57,488 in Oklahoma to a high of $240,900 in Alaska (the cost in second-place Connecticut is $155,125).

State data are available in the report as well as at genworth.com/costofcare.

Genworth polled more than 15 percent of licensed ALFs and almost 25 percent of certified and licensed nursing homes for the annual effort, resulting in more than 6,200 completed ALF surveys and almost nearly 3,800 completed SNF surveys.

The results, covering more than 14,800 LTC providers in 440 regions across the country, also include numbers related to home care and adult day care. The national median hourly rate, according to the survey, is $19 for homemaker services and $20 for home health aide services, increases of 4.11 percent and 1.59 percent over 2013, respectively. The five-year annual growth rate is 1.2 percent for homemaker services and 1.32 percent for home health aide services.

For adult day healthcare, the national median daily rate is $65, the same as in 2013. The five-year annual growth rate is 3.4 percent.

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