Can Marylanders Afford Soaring Long Term Care Costs?

Maryland’s elderly population is increasing at a very fast rate but senior Marylanders are far from being weaklings. They are, in the contrary, a very active lot and in fact they are expected to pursue new careers after they have retired from their longtime jobs at the age of 65. This, however, should not be a reason for the ignorance of Maryland long term care costs. Although they are very active and expected to live into their 90s, or even 100th birthday, many baby boomers in Maryland will need some level of long term care (LTC) at some point in their lives. When this happens they have to be ready to deal with the cost of care which continues to spiral upwards. The massive growth of Maryland’s elderly population has a great impact on the state’s cost of health care services as LTC facilities and home health care agencies believe that there is a need to bring in additional skilled caregivers, nurses, new beds and equipment so that they can accommodate new patients. Unfortunately, it’s not only the senior folks that require LTC. Statistics show that 40% of the current population receiving serious care for rehabilitative purposes or for the terminal phase of an illness is comprised of individuals from the 18 to 64 age bracket. Now the 13-year-olds, 15-year-olds and babies with special needs who are also receiving care are not included in this count yet so if you sum them up just imagine how big the population of LTC patients in the country is. Now in Maryland, nursing homes are not so much of a requirement because most if not all Marylanders prefer to age in place. Still, there is a need to equip these institutional facilities and those that are community-based because a percentage of the elderly folks will inevitably need specialized care at some point. Maryland Long Term Care Costs Maryland remains in competition with its neighboring states in the mid-Atlantic region to maintain its reputation as one of the most expensive states for LTC. Why, the rates of LTC facilities in this state are visibly going up uncontrollably. Unfortunately, New York and Pennsylvania are still on the lead while Maryland and Delaware are on an equal footing. Since majority of senior Marylanders prefer to receive care at home, they are spending $23 hourly for a home health aide to provide them with personal care such as assistance with their activities of daily living (ADL) which are basically eating, bathing, dressing, use of the toilet, management of continence, and transferring or walking. Meanwhile, those individuals who have developed a chronic illness and have begun to require constant care and 24-hour monitoring were moved to a nursing facility. In this type of LTC setting, a patient pays $242 daily for staying in a private room. That amount translates to $88,330 annually. Without a good LTC plan every single Marylander is bound to lose all of his assets to the high cost of care, which is expected to soar four times more 18 years from now. Open the subject of Maryland long term care costs to your family and let them know that planning for it is necessary. Your other plans can take the back seat but your LTC plan cannot wait.