Genworth Cost of Care Survey 2019: In-Home Care Costs Rising Sharply in Alaska

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In-home care costs in Alaska rose sharply year over year, making it one of the top five most expensive states in the nation for care at home – the place most people prefer to stay as they grow older¹.

In Alaska, the cost of homemaker services, which includes assistance with "hands-off" tasks such as cooking, cleaning and running errands, increased 13.38 percent during the last 12 months to $67,450 for 44 hours/week for 52 weeks. The cost of a home health aide, which includes "hands-on" personal assistance with activities such as bathing, dressing and eating, increased 11.04 percent, to $68,594 for the same amount of time.  

This year's Cost of Care Survey findings show that the national median annual cost of in-home care is rising sharply compared with the costs of assisted living and nursing home care, which are stabilizing.  Nationally, the cost of homemaker services rose almost four times as fast as the annual median cost of a nursing home. 

"Aging in place has always been a popular choice, but now the costs of that care are really starting to reflect the mismatch between the supply of care professionals and demand for their services as the population ages," said Gordon Saunders, Genworth Senior Brand Marketing Manager who manages the Cost of Care Survey. "The ever-increasing cost of long term care, even for care at home, makes it vitally important that individuals and families start planning for these costs well in advance of needing care."

Annual Median Cost of Long Term Care Support Services for Alaska

Why In-Home Care Costs Are Rising
In-home care providers consulted by Genworth point to several factors⁹ that are driving up the cost of in-home care:

• The shortage of skilled workers – not enough care professionals to meet the increasing demand for in-home care – compounded by a tight labor market
• The costs of complying with the new mandates in local, state and federal certifications and regulations, including revised minimum wage and overtime laws in some states
• The shift in post-acute Medicare reimbursement, which is spurring hospitals to discharge patients sooner and with greater care needs.

Long Term Care Planning Tools
Genworth offers its annual cost of Care Survey and award-winning interactive website to help individuals and their families educate themselves about the costs of care so that they can begin thinking about who will care for them if they should no longer be able to care for themselves and how they will pay for that care.

Genworth's Cost of Care Calculator allows online visitors to look up and compare the cost of care in locations all across the country and project those costs up to 50 years into the future.  In addition to the calculator, Genworth's website contains long term care planning tools, practical information on topics such as understanding Medicare and Medicaid, conversation starters, impairment simulations, options for financing long term care and videos of real families sharing their long term care stories.

"In the absence of planning, long term care decisions are often driven by crises, such as when a parent is discharged from the hospital and can no longer manage on their own," said Saunders. "That's often when families realize they can't afford the care their loved one needs.  We hope these resources will encourage families to start these conversations well before long term care is needed so that their loved ones can receive the best care and live life on their own terms as they grow older.  The upcoming holidays are a great time to begin that conversation."

About Genworth's 2019 Cost of Care Survey
Genworth's annual Cost of Care Survey, one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, contacted 53,901 long term care providers nationwide to complete 15,178 surveys for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day health facilities and in-home care providers. The survey includes 441 regions based on the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and include approximately 85 percent of the U.S. population.

CareScout®, part of the Genworth Financial family of companies, has conducted the survey since 2004. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts, CareScout has specialized in helping families find long term care providers nationwide since 1997.

⁹ Online discussions with long term care providers across all care settings in key geographical locations, conducted for the 15^th anniversary of Genworth's Cost of Care Survey by J&K Solutions, LLC, September 2018.

About Genworth Financial 
Genworth Financial, Inc.is a Fortune 500 insurance holding company committed to helping families achieve the dream of homeownership and address the financial challenges of aging through its leadership positions in mortgage insurance and long term care insurance. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Genworth traces its roots back to 1871 and became a public company in 2004. For more information, visit genworth.com.

From time to time, Genworth releases important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors" section of genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth's publicly traded subsidiaries, Genworth MI Canada Inc. and Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited, separately release financial and other information about their operations. This information can be found at http://genworth.ca and http://www.genworth.com.au

Table Footnotes:

² Referred to as Residential Care facilities in California
³ Based on 44 hours per week by 52 weeks
⁴ Based on 5 days per week by 52 weeks
⁵ Based on 12 months of care, private, one bedroom
⁶ Based on 365 days of care
⁷ Based on 2018 and 2019 Annual Percentage Change
⁸ Ranking based on the highest to lowest cost per state for each care category

SOURCE Genworth Financial, Inc.

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