Costs Continue to Increase as a Result of Nationwide Inflation
and Worker Shortages
The cost of long-term care services increased across all
provider types and increased more substantially for certain
settings, according to Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey 2023. The
most substantial cost increases occurred in home health aide and
homemaker services costs. Inflation and the shortage of skilled
care workers are the core drivers of increases in the costs of care
services.
Genworth, in partnership with CareScout, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Genworth Financial, Inc., has been conducting its
Cost of Care Survey since 2004. After recalibrating the survey to
align with both the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts
in the long-term care industry, this updated survey includes
enhanced methodology and new questions on care options, cost
drivers, and person-centered care.1
“Understanding long-term care options and the costs associated
with care are critical first steps toward being prepared for
whatever you want your aging journey to look like,” says Jamala
Arland, President and CEO, Genworth U.S. Life Insurance. “That was
true when we started this body of research and is even more true as
the Cost of Care Survey celebrates its 20th anniversary this
year.”
Cost of Care
The 2023 survey found that the costs of long-term care services
have increased since 2022 as follows:
- Assisted living facility rates increased by 1.4% to an
annual national median cost of $64,200 per year.
- The cost of a home health aide, which includes
“hands-on” personal assistance with activities such as bathing,
dressing, and eating, has increased 10.0% to an annual median cost
of $75,500.2 Homemaker services, which include assistance
with “hands-off” tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and running
errands, have increased 7.1% to an annual median cost of
$68,600.3
- The national annual median cost of a semi-private room in a
skilled nursing facility rose to $104,000, an increase of 4.4%,
while the cost of a private room in a nursing home increased
4.9% to $116,800.
“We saw increases between 1% and 10% across facility types for
this year’s survey,” says Arland. “While this continues the upward
trend we’ve seen over the past several surveys, we are actively
digging deeper into the data to analyze trends and plan to share
those findings in the coming months.”
Cost Drivers
The 2023 survey participants reported that:
- Inflation was the top factor contributing to cost
increases for assisted living facilities.
- A shortage of skilled workers was the top contributing
factor for homecare services and nursing homes.
“As we look at this year’s data, costs are up, but not as
drastically as in previous years, especially assisted living
facilities, which only increased 1.4% from 2022 to 2023, but a
total of 18.9% from 2021 to 2023. This is likely due to inflation4
and housing market trends5 stabilizing post-pandemic,” says Arland.
“With 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day until 20306, and
seven out of ten of them likely to need long-term care services and
support at some point7, there is increased demand for skilled
workers in the long-term care space.”
Person-Centered Care
The 2023 survey reports that:
- 95% of respondents, regardless of facility type, place a very
high importance on the idea of person-centered care.
- Staff trainings and cost are the top barriers that impact a
provider’s ability to offer person-centered care.
“Person-centered care sentiment is a new component for the Cost
of Care Survey as we work to better understand how providers think
about the quality of care they provide, along with the costs. There
are limited resources available for consumers to understand the
quality of a provider’s care, and those that do exist focus on
basic safety,” says Samir Shah, CEO of CareScout Services.
“CareScout believes person-centered care is the key to making the
aging journey more dignified, connected, and fulfilling as it
addresses not only physical health but also mental, social, and
spiritual health. That’s why we’ve created the CareScout Quality
Network, a first-of-its kind group of long-term care providers who
meet high standards for quality, person-centered care and are
willing to offer preferred pricing.”
Navigate the Aging Journey with Confidence Genworth and
CareScout share a purpose of empowering families to navigate the
aging journey with confidence. Whether developing planning tools
like the Cost of Care Survey, providing resources to live at home
independently with Genworth’s Live Well | Age Well program, finding
high-quality care through the CareScout Quality Network, or in the
future, funding care through CareScout Insurance, our goal is to
provide guidance, products and services that help families
understand, find and pay for care now and in the future.
Some helpful resources include:
- Cost of Care Survey tool, an interactive web-based tool to help
calculate the median cost of long-term care services in your
area.
- Conversation starters to help begin the discussion with your
loved ones about potential long-term care needs and issues with
aging.
- Information about paying for long-term care services for
yourself or a loved one.
- Perspectives on person-centered care – what it is and why you
should insist on it.
- The CareScout Quality Network, a first-of-its-kind network of
long-term care providers who meet high-standards for quality,
person-centered care.
About Genworth’s Cost of Care Survey 2023 Genworth’s
annual Cost of Care Survey, one of the most comprehensive studies
of its kind, contacted more than 176,000 long term care providers
nationwide to complete more than 11,000 surveys for nursing homes,
assisted living facilities, adult day health facilities and home
care providers from September to December 2023. The survey
collected rates for 2023 and 2022 and includes 429 regions based on
the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, defined by the Office of
Management and Budget as a core area containing a substantial
population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a
high degree of economic and social integration with that core.
However, due to statistical variance actual costs for long-term
care services may differ from the projected cost based on ZIP Code
or location.
About Genworth Financial Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:
GNW) is a Fortune 500 provider of products, services and solutions
that help families address the financial challenges of aging.
Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, we apply our nearly 150 years
of experience each day to helping people navigate caregiving
options and fund their long term care needs. Genworth is also the
parent company of publicly traded Enact Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ACT), a leading U.S. mortgage insurance provider. For more
information on Genworth, please visit https://www.genworth.com/.
From time to time Enact separately releases financial and other
information about its operations. This information can be found at
https://ir.enactmi.com/.
About CareScout CareScout helps older adults and their
families navigate the aging journey and find quality care. Inspired
by a mission to simplify and dignify the aging experience, we're
building an integrated ecosystem of care and funding solutions. To
learn more about CareScout, visit www.CareScout.com. CareScout, LLC
(CareScout) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Genworth Financial,
Inc. (NYSE: GNW).
1 Person-centered care looks beyond safety to also integrate a
person’s values, preferences, and goals into the care they receive.
It creates a partnership between caregiver and care recipient that
addresses the physical, mental, spiritual, and social elements of a
person’s health. 2 Based on 44 hours per week for 52 weeks. 3 Based
on 44 hours per week for 52 weeks. 4 “United States Inflation Rate”
(https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi), site
accessed 03/06/24 5 “The Rent Report”
(https://www.rent.com/research/average-rent-price-report/), site
accessed 03/06/24 6 ”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 03/06/24. 7 2024 U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
(https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/how-much-care-will-you-need), site
accessed 03/06/24.
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Media Contact: Danielle Bolt Danielle.bolt@genworth.com
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