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High costs of long-term care are rising The term “long-term care” generally refers to a variety of supportive services for aging or dependent people. The care may be provided in the person’s home, at an adult day care center, or in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Care can range from relatively minor assistance with meal preparation and housekeeping to more consistent care with medications, bathing and dressing or full-time nursing. Results of a new survey of long-term care providers found that the cost of care varies widely by region, with costs in urban areas of the United States averaging 16% more than in non-urban areas. Procedure: A research firm conducted telephone interviews with long-term care providers in 50 of the United States. Their responses were compared with prior results to calculate compound annual growth rates. The cost-of-care survey has been conducted since 2004. Home care: Nationally, the average hourly rate for a non-Medicare certified, state licensed home health aide was $19.18, a cost that amounted to $43,884 per year for 44 hours per week of care. This was a 4% increase over the hourly rate for a non-Medicare certified home health aide in 2004 of $18.43. Adult day health care. Three different models of adult day health care programs were included: social, medical and combined. Nationally, more than 980 providers completed the survey. The average daily private pay rate charged by an adult day health care provider was $59/day. The average annual cost for five days a week in an adult day health care facility was $15,236. Assisted living facilities. More than 4,500 providers completed the survey of monthly base private pay rates. A private one-bedroom unit in an assisted living facility had an average annual cost of $36,090, a jump of 25% since 2004. While community and entrance fee rates were not included in the average monthly assisted living rate calculations, 33% of the facilities charged a one-time, non-refundable fee ranging from $35 to $118,180, with a national average one-time fee of $2,316. Source : http://www.icaa.cc     By K.S. Date 23-05-2008