Nationwide Survey Long Term Care Costs (So Fla Bus Journal)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 10:01am EDT
Miami outpaces nation in long-term care costs
South Florida Business Journal - by Brian Bandell

The average cost of nursing home care and assisted living increased by 3.3 percent in 2009 with the costs of long-term care in the Miami area once again exceeding the national average.

According to a survey by the MetLife Mature Markets Institute, the national daily cost of a private nursing home room is $219 this year, up from $212 in 2008. That compares to $225 in Florida and $235 in Miami.


The most expensive state for nursing home private rooms was Alaska at $584 a day. Louisiana was the cheapest at $132 a day.Nationally, the average monthly cost for assisted living increased to $3,131, from $3,031 in 2008. In Florida, the average was comparatively low at $2,768 a month. But it was up to $3,220 a month in Miami.

Assisted living costs ran the highest in Wilmington, Del. At $5,219 a month and were the lowest in North Dakota at $2,041 a month.
“While the Consumer Price Index decreased overall during the past year, costs for medical care are 3.3 percent higher, which parallels our findings on long-term care,” Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute, said in a press release. “The change in pricing methods at some assisted living communities may be another factor, a warning to consumers to carefully compare prices at all long-term care service facilities by considering both the base price and the add-ins for additional services."

The report also looked at adult day care services daily costs. In Florida, the average price was $61 a day. Miami came in at just $49. Both were lower than the national average of $67 a day.


Full report at http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/mmi-market-survey-nursing-home-assisted-living.pdf