What's in a Number?
Two new national surveys of nursing home and assisted living costs disagree by up to 11 percent on how much those costs have risen in the past year, But they show similar current rates.
Both Metlife's Mature Market Institure and Genworth Financial Services say that private rooms for nursing home patients are now averaging $209 to $212 a day; semi-private rooms cost patients $187-$191 a day. But Metlife says the private room rates have remained virtually unchanged since 2007, while Genworth estimates a 2-percent increase; Metlife estimates that semi-private room prices have increased only 2 percent over the past 12 months, while Genworth says they are up 4 percent. But in assisted living, which charges monthly rents rather than daily rates, Genworth estimates that those prices have gone up a whopping 11 percent in the past year, while Metlife found it to be only 2.1 percent.
It might not really matter, because what is, is. Both companies report that assisted living one-bedroom apartments rent for an average $3,000 a month. The actual price depends on where you live, however. According to Metlife's state-by-state survey, prices are highest in Alaska nursing homes, which go for $577 a day for private rooms, and $566 for semi-private. Assisted living is most expensive in southern Maine, where the average monthly base rate is $4708.
The lowest private-room hospital rates showed up in suburban and rural Louisiana, which reported average prices of $127 a day. Semi-private rooms were cheapest in suburban and rural Minnesota and Oklahoma, where they go for about $121 a day. North Dakota had the lowest base rate for assisted living at $1,980 a month.
The Metlife survey, done by telephone, does not report a total number of facilities contacted. Genworth says it surveyed more than 10,000 facilities. You can get the full Metlife report, with state totals, at www.maturemarketinstitute.com. For the Genworth stats, go to www.genworthfinancial.com . For an even more interesting look at what the U.S. spends on nursing home care, try http://takingnote.tcf.org/2008/06/how-much-do-we.html