Calif.’s Long-Term Care Costs Outpace National Median, Report Says

Long-term care costs in California are higher than the costs for such care nationally, according to a report by Genworth Financial, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.

For example, the report found that annually:

The median cost of a private room in a nursing home is about $104,000 in California, compared with about $87,600 nationally (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 4/14);
The median cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is about $86,800 in California, compared with about $77,400 nationally; and
The median cost of a single-occupancy room in an assisted living facility is $45,000 in California, compared with $42,000 nationally.

The report also noted that hourly rates for some long-term care services are more expensive in California than they are nationally, including:

Adult day health care, with a median cost of $76 per hour in California, compared with $65 per hour nationally;
Homemakers services, with a median cost of $22 per hour in California, compared with $19 per hour nationally; and
Home health aide services, with a median cost of $23 per hour in California, compared with $20 per hour nationally (Genworth Financial report, 4/1).

The report found variations among the cost of long-term care in certain regions of California. For instance, the median annual cost of a private or semi-private room in a nursing home in Sacramento is about $116,000 and $92,500, respectively -- both of which outpace the state and national median costs (Sacramento Business Journal, 4/14). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.