What’s the Cost of Care in Your Area?

Each U.S. state has something special and unique to offer tourists and migrants, from historical places and monuments to historic names and events. However, the residents of all 50 states cannot answer directly when they’re asked if their beloved hometown is an ideal retirement destination due to growing long term care costs by state. rnLeading carriers of long term care insurance policies, like Genworth Financial, would provide annually a summary of the overall cost of care in each state, and every time their list of the most expensive states for long term care never fails to include the staples. rnFrom Genworth Financial’s 2012 Cost of Care Survey it can be gleaned that most of the states that are situated in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions still happen to be taking the lead. Long term care (LTC) costs in Rhode Island, Maine, Delaware, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have become increasingly unimaginable. rnThe cost of nursing homes, assisted living and other LTC facilities in the above-mentioned states are increasing at a far greater rate than the national average while the rates of their in-home care services have managed to stay flat. Now even if more people in the country prefer in-home care, this information should not be a reason to celebrate because no one is a hundred percent sure that he will never require institutional or community-based care in the future. rnLong Term Care Costs by State rnBased on Genworth Financial’s data, Massachusetts offers the most expensive LTC services. Bay Staters who are just five years away from retirement should better have a financial plan already otherwise they could wind up spending their entire nest egg on their LTC needs. rnHome health aides in Massachusetts currently charge an hourly rate of $23 while homemaker services are priced at $21 per hour. So if a member of each household in this state acquires both types of in-home care services on a daily basis, then that only means all of the families here are forking out more than $100,600 each year. rnWhat if the cost of care starts to increase fourfold in 2030, as predicted by LTC experts and financial advisers, and one’s annual LTC spending of $100,600 climbs to $402,400? Only a handful of Americans can afford this because there’s only a handful earning close to $500,000 annually. Majority of the residents belong to the middle class and they have to work like a horse in order to make ends meet. rnAccording to the records of the U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts’s elderly population 65 years old and beyond as of 2010 is 13.8% of the state’s total population. This number is expected to double in less than 20 years so the young and old are advised to study their LTC options because it would be impossible for the state’s Medicaid program to shoulder everyone’s health care needs. Coming in second to Massachusetts is New Jersey as the total population of its senior citizens makes up 13.5% of its overall population. rnIt is advisable to study long term care costs by state before deciding to relocate upon retirement. For all you know, you’re better off where you are.