Costs of assisted living facilities and retirement homes rise in 2010
October 28, 2010
A new survey has found that the prices of assisted living and retirement homes have steadily risen from 2009 to 2010. Private nursing homes can now cost approximately $82,585 each year and assisted living facilities have risen to $39,516.
In Alaska, the state with the most expensive accommodations, older adults must pay $687 for a private room.
“The cost of care in nursing homes and assisted living has been and continues to be high and, in the past year, the increases have even outpaced medical care inflation of about 3%,” said Sandra Timmermann, director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. “As the population ages, there are more and more people among us who will need long-term care.”
These findings may compel many to seek alternatives to assisted living facilities and retirement homes, particularly because many older adults want to age at home and the survey concluded that homecare services haven’t experienced the same surge in cost.
However, seniors may also want to consider installing an elderly alert system, which enables older adults to immediately send a medical alert to caretakers or doctors in the case of an emergency, and live independently and safely.
