This is the fifth consecutive year Genworth has used a consistent methodology to survey long term care service providers across the country within 90 regions.
Based on these survey results, Genworth identifies emerging trends across the long term care services landscape.
Adult Day Health Care (ADH)Home Care ProvidersNursing Home Providers
Adult Day Health Care (ADH) top
Adult Day Health Care (ADH) is becoming more popular and more available across the country, and is designed to meet the needs of adults who are functionally and/or cognitively impaired.
Nationally, the average daily rate charged by an ADH provider is $59/day. This is the first Genworth-published ADH survey and therefore a historical trend analysis is not available.
Programs are structured and comprehensive, and to take place in a protective setting that promotes well-being through a variety of health, social, and other support services. These services are intended to help enable individuals to live more independently in the community. They also may be intended to provide some relief for family caregivers.
There are at least three different models of Adult Day Health Care programs: social, medical, and combined.
Social Model: This model provides social activities, meals, recreation, and some health related services. The primary focus is on providing non-medical interventions such as basic care, supervision, social activities, transportation, meals, and recreation. Five percent of ADH facilities surveyed offered this model.
Medical Model: This model is typically for individuals who have health care problems. Generally, the medical model provides nursing supervision and medical monitoring for each participant. Medical model programs may also offer physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Thirty-eight percent of ADH facilities surveyed offered this model.
Combined Model: Providers offering this model may provide both social and medical services. Usually a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) on staff oversees general health while participants take part in a variety of activities designed to stimulate cognition and movement. Fifty-seven percent of ADH facilities surveyed offered this model.
Home Care Providers top
In contrast to facility-based care, rates charged by home care providers for “non-skilled” related services have remained relatively flat over five years.
For example, in 2004 the national, hourly private pay rate charged by a non-Medicare certified, licensed home health agency for a Home Health Aide was $18.43. In 2008 the hourly rate has only increased to $19.18. Despite a slight spike in these rates in 2006, the historical compound annual growth rate for this type of care has been a mere 1% over five years of survey results.
Potential reasons for this trend include the possibility that home care rates have remained flat due to increased competition among agencies, availability of unskilled labor, and because agencies can avoid, for the most part, the costs associated with maintaining stand-alone health care facilities.
Nursing Home Providers top
Overall, the cost of care within facility-based providers has steadily increased while “non-skilled care” related home care costs have remained relatively flat. For example, in 2008 the average annual rate for a private nursing home room was $76,460 compared with the 2004 average annual rate of $65,185. This increase represents a 4% compound annual growth rate over that period and means Americans can expect to pay over $10,000 more per year than five years ago.
Similarly, the monthly rate for a one-bedroom unit within a licensed assisted living facility has increased almost 6% over five years, excluding any one-time community fees that are typically charged by approximately one-third of all assisted living facilities surveyed.
