Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey: Long-Term Care Costs Increase Due to Labor Market Shifts and Costs Associated with Continued COVID-19 Response
Even as costs rise, research indicates that home-based care remains the preferred choice for families1. Engaging home care professionals, who can monitor and facilitate safe and healthy behaviors, may increase the chances that an aging individual can stay at home.
To explore median Cost of Care data by city, state or ZIP Code, to find charts showing trends since 2004, and to access lists of states ranked in order of care costs, visit www.genworth.com/costofcare.
The 2021 survey reports that the cost of care services has increased as follows:
-
Assisted living facility rates increased by
4.65% to an annual national median cost of per year.$54,000 -
The cost of a home health aide, which includes “hands-on” personal assistance with activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating, has increased
12.5% to an annual median cost of .2 Homemaker services, which include assistance with “hands-off” tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and running errands, have increased$61,776 10.64% to an annual median cost of 2.$59,488 -
The national annual median cost of a semi-private room in a skilled nursing facility rose to
, an increase of$94,900 1.96% , while the cost of a private room in a nursing home increased2.41% to .$108,405
While price increases compared to last year, especially for home-based services, are significant, over the last five years, the average annual increase for these services has been in the
“The Cost of
Why Costs Are on the Rise
Since
“Even more than in prior years, the increased demand for labor and the current national labor shortage have made it more difficult to hire and retain long-term care professionals,” said Haendiges. “Those challenges are coupled with the broader trend of growing wages and increases in the cost of doing business associated with regulatory, employee certification, and equipment costs, which have all been exacerbated by the pandemic.”
“There is fierce competition for a limited number of care professionals, and many are leaving the industry in pursuit of higher paying jobs or because of concerns about potential exposure to COVID-19 while on the job. The costs of recruiting, retaining, and training new care professionals is likely to remain high as we approach 2023,” Haendiges said.
While labor costs are likely to remain high, conversations with care services providers indicate that elevated costs associated with PPE and other COVID-19 protocols such as testing, vaccination status tracking, and quarantining may subside as we make continued progress on reducing COVID-19 case numbers. However, it is likely that wide variability in care costs for markets across the
Elevating the Value Proposition for Home Care
In a conversation with
“The pandemic has shown us that home is the safest place to care for people,” said Huber. “As our population ages and more people require long-term care, it is clear that the most scalable, comfortable, and safest solution is home-based care.” Huber added that care professionals can help their clients adhere to a medication regime, combat loneliness, stay better nourished and hydrated, and provide social and mental engagement, leading to better health outcomes. “We are working to enhance the perception of professional caregiving and elevate it as a vocation of the future, with increased training and education standards to ensure consistency and accountability across the industry.”
While costs have risen, Huber stressed how organizations like his are leveraging technology platforms and centralized administrative teams to reduce costs associated with scheduling, coordination, billing, payroll, recruiting, and training. “We’re implementing ways to really streamline operations so we can be as efficient as possible to provide as much value to the client as possible for the right price point,” he says.
Caring for people in their homes frees up capacity in hospitals, reducing admissions and readmissions, as well as overall usage of healthcare infrastructure. Better incorporating home care into the broader healthcare ecosystem, especially when arranging for some level of home care at the earliest signs of a loved one’s need, is likely to help reduce overall costs and support better patient outcomes.
Genworth’s Cost of Care Planning Resources
-
Cost of
Care Survey tool, to help calculate the median cost of long-term care services in your area, as well as trend charts and tables ranking states from the highest to lowest cost in each care category. - Beyond Dollars research, which highlights how caregiving impacts families, communities, and society.
- Guides to understanding Medicare and Medicaid.
- Conversation starters to help begin the discussion with your loved ones about potential long-term care needs and issues with aging.
- In-person and online simulations and videos to help people understand the potential physical effects of aging.
- Information about paying for long-term care services for yourself or a loved one.
- Stories from real families about their experiences with long term care.
About Genworth’s 18th Annual Cost of
Genworth’s annual Cost of
About
1 Genworth Beyond
2 Based on 44 hours per week for 52 weeks.
3 Based on 44 hours per week for 52 weeks
4 ”2020 Census Will Help Policymakers Prepare for the Incoming Wave of Aging Boomers” (https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/12/by-2030-all-baby-boomers-will-be-age-65-or-older.html), site accessed 1/25/22.
5 2021
6 Genworth Beyond
7 2020 “The Ballooning Costs of Long Term Care,”
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