In a blog today at TampaBay.com, the author gives us some prices based on a recent Genworth long-term care cost survey:
- $77,212 for a private room in a nursing home
- $33,124 for a private one-bedroom unit in an assisted living facility
- $44,959 ($19.65 per hour for 44 hours a week) for a licensed home health aide.
I highlighted the cost for the home health care, as that is what 75% of long-term care insurance claims are for, according to the LTC Claims Statistics page.
So, to those living in Tampa, are you insured enough for the future costs of care? Genworth found that, "Over the past five years, the cost of a private room in a nursing home has risen 24 percent in the Tampa Bay area, compared to 17 percent nationally."
Having a 5% compound inflation protection rider would have helped, but this does add to the cost. This reminds me of another story out this week in the Dallas News on long-term care insurance, and how it is an important part of a plan for families. It points out that those newly diagnosed who were farsighted, and purchased long-term care insurance before their diagnosis should check the terms of their coverage.Older policies may pay for institutional care but not in-home care, said Greg Regan, a Dallas financial gerontologist.
"If you discover your coverage isn't adequate or you never bought protection, you still may be able to purchase an annuity that will provide a lifetime source of income," he said.
We always like to give our clients a suggestion of at least considering very closely 100% home health care, due to the above-mentioned statistic that three in four claims dollars go to pay for home health care.
