The average daily cost of a private room in a nursing home in the United States is $75,190 a year, or $206 a day, according to the 2006 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home and Home Care Costs. This is a 3.9 percent increase over last year, when the average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home was $74,095 a year, or $203 a day, according to MetLife. In Los Angeles, the average daily cost of a private room in a nursing home is $199 a day.
The highest rates for a private room in 2006 were found in Alaska, where the cost is $578 a day on average. The lowest rates were found in Shreveport, Louisiana, at $111 a day, a $4 drop from last year.
The survey also reports on the cost of a semi-private room, which now averages $183 a day, or $66,795 a year, also a 3.9 increase over last year. In Los Angeles, the average daily cost for a semi-private room is $156.
The study also found that the cost of a home health care aide averaged $19 per hour nationally, the same as last year, while homemaker/companion care averages $17 per hour, also unchanged. The lowest costs for both home health care aides and homemaker companions are $12 per hour in Shreveport, while Rochester, Minnesota, had the highest costs for a home health care aide at $29 an hour.
In California, the Medi-Cal program is available for qualified couples or individuals to help defray the high costs of skilled nursing care. Unfortunately, many people are misinformed about the eligibility criteria Medi-Cal uses to determine eligibility. Despite what you might have heard, you do not have to be destitute in order to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits. With the guidance of a knowledgeable elder law attorney, it is legal to implement various planning techniques in order to qualify for Medi-Cal benefits and to minimize potential Medi-Cal recovery against the Medi-Cal beneficiary’s estate.
For more information, please contact the Law Office of Sean D. Ethington at 661-295-4604 or visit www.elderlawsite.com.