Thursday, April 12, 2012RICHMOND, Va. -- Ohio residents who need long-term care services in their homes are paying more for it than they did five years ago, but not by much. The median cost for homemaker and home health aide services are $18 and $19 per hour, respectively, finds a new study.
"Overwhelmingly, Americans prefer to receive long term care in the home and the relatively muted rise in home care costs nationally over the past few years can be viewed as a positive for consumers in Ohio," said Steve Zabel, senior vice president of Long Term Care at Genworth, which issued its 2012 Cost of Care Survey. "Consumer demand for home care services has led to a proliferation of home care services providers and more choice for consumers. This competition has kept home care costs relatively stable, especially when compared to the cost of care in a nursing home or assisted living facility."
Nationally, the median hourly cost for homemaker services and home health aide services also is $18 and $19, respectively. The median hourly cost for homemaker services in Ohio has increased 1.1% annually over the past five years, while the hourly cost of home health aide services has increased 1.5% over the same period of time.
By comparison, the median annual cost for care in an assisted living facility is $39,600 nationally. The comparable cost in Ohio is $44,550. The national yearly cost for assisted living has increased 5.7% a year over the past five years, while long term care costs in Ohio have increased 8.8 % a year during the same time period. Nationally, the median annual cost for a private nursing home room rose 4.3% annually over the past five years to $81,030, while costs in Ohio increased 4.4% a year during the comparable time period to $81,213.
According to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare, there were approximately 9,200 Medicare-certified home care agencies in the United States at the start of 2008. Today, there are slightly over 11,000, representing an increase of 20%. Conversely, during this same period of time, the number of Medicare-certified nursing homes has increased less than one half of 1% from just over 15,000 to 15,100. The number of nursing homes is increasing at a slower rate and no longer represents the only option.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.