Dear Raider,
I read that it is Long-Term Care Planning Month, and last night Lester Holt talked about the rising cost of living for aging Americans. With most things continuing to rise in price, I can’t even imagine the cost of long-term care these days. Do you have any recent information about what someone could currently expect to pay for assisted living, home health aides, or a nursing home? What is the best way to plan for long-term care, since I’m pretty sure I can’t afford it without going broke?
Thanks for your help!
Costa Lott
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Dear Costa,
I also watched the Lester Holt story entitled “Cost of Living,” and it was accurate but only scratched the surface of the problem. Long-term care insurance company Genworth has been tracking the costs of long-term care services since 2004. The 2023 Cost of Care Survey data was released in March of this year, consisting of results from over 11,000 surveys from nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day health facilities, and home care providers.
National findings for 2023 included:
- Assisted Living Facility Rates: Increased by 1.4 percent to reach an annual national median cost of $64,200. In the DC area, the median cost was around $115,000 a year on average.
- Skilled Nursing Facility: The national annual median cost of a semi-private room in a skilled nursing facility rose by 4.4 percent to $104,000. In the DC area, the median cost was $175,000 a year in 2023.
- Home Health Aide Services: Increased by 10 percent, bringing the annual median cost to $75,500 in 2023.
- Homemaker Services: Increased in 2023 by 7.1 percent to an annual median cost of $68,600.
According to Genworth, these increases were primarily driven by inflation and a shortage in the workforce. The interactive Cost of Care Survey tool can be viewed here.
Planning for Long-Term Care During Long-Term Care Planning Month
Seventy percent of all Americans 65 and older will require long-term care services and support, either at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home. Yet many won’t have a way to afford it. This is why this month (and any month) seniors and their loved ones are encouraged to plan ahead.
Here at the Farr Law Firm, we give our clients the peace of mind that comes from Long-Term Care Planning and protecting your assets and your legacy, all while preserving your dignity, quality of life, and financial security.
Among other services, we offer peace of mind through Level 3 planning— Living Trust Plus® Asset Protection Planning. The Living Trust Plus® provides protection from probate, lawsuits, in-home care expenses, and assisted living expenses by allowing access to Veterans Aid and Attendance benefits, and nursing home level of care expenses by allowing access to Medicaid. This type of planning is done by clients who are typically retired and either still healthy or have recently been diagnosed with (or have a family history of) dementia or some other illness that is likely to result in the future need for long-term care.
We also offer Level 4 – Life Care Planning, Medicaid Asset Protection, and Veterans Asset Protection. This includes comprehensive planning and filing services, often at times of crisis, though this type of planning can be done anytime someone is beyond the first step of the Elder Care Continuum aka Aging Continuum.
If you have not done the appropriate level of planning or had your planning documents reviewed in the past several years, it’s important to call the Farr Law Firm to make an appointment.
Hope this helps!
Raider
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