Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Study: Hawaii Cost of Long Term Care Soars 87% in Five Years
By News Release @ 12:03 PM :: 8793 Views :: Energy, Environment, National News, Ethics

Genworth's 9th Annual Cost of Care Survey Shows Long Term Care In-Home Services Costs Rise in Hawaii

With more options, Hawaii residents are urged to plan for long term care needs

RICHMOND, Va., April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Genworth's (NYSE: GNW) 2012 Cost of Care Survey, the cost to receive care in the home through home health aide services in Hawaii has risen over the past five years.

"Overwhelmingly, Americans prefer to receive long term care in the home and the relatively muted rise in home care costs nationally over the past few years can be viewed as a positive for consumers in Hawaii," said Steve Zabel, senior vice president of Long Term Care at Genworth. "Consumer demand for home care services has led to a proliferation of home care services providers and more choice for consumers. This competition has kept home care costs relatively stable, especially when compared to the cost of care in a nursing home or assisted living facility."

Nationally, the median hourly cost for homemaker services and home health aide services is $18 and $19, respectively. In Hawaii, by comparison, the median cost for homemaker services is $22 per hour and the median cost for home health aide services is $25 per hour. The median hourly cost for homemaker services in Hawaii has increased 2.4 percent annually over the past five years, while the hourly cost of home health aide services has increased 3.5 percent over the same period of time.

By comparison, the median annual cost for care in an assisted living facility is $39,600 nationally. The comparable cost in Hawaii is $45,000. The national yearly cost for assisted living has increased 5.7 percent a year over the past five years, while long term care costs in Hawaii have increased 13.4 percent a year (NOTE 13.4% annual increases multiplied over five years = 87.5% increase) during the same time period. Nationally, the median annual cost for a private nursing home room rose 4.3 percent annually over the past five years to $81,030, while costs in Hawaii increased 4.2 percent a year during the comparable time period to $125,925.

Then and Now: Increased Options Benefit Consumers

Consumers have more long term care options today than ever before as seen by the increasing number of home care agencies. According to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare, there were approximately 9,200 Medicare-certified home care agencies in the U.S. at the start of 2008. Today, there are slightly over 11,000, representing an increase of 20 percent. Conversely, during this same period of time, the number of Medicare-certified nursing homes has increased less than one half of 1.0 percent from just over 15,000 to 15,100. The number of nursing homes is increasing at a slower rate and no longer represents the only option.

While consumers' options have increased dramatically, creating a tangible plan for long term care is a critical step many overlook. According to Genworth claims data, the youngest claimant ever was 27 years old. Although that is not the norm, it underscores the necessity for a care planning roadmap. Consumers can create a long term care plan and learn more about the cost of care in their local market and nationally by visiting www.Genworth.com/CostofCare. The site is rich with a range of educational and planning tools to help consumers compare costs across geographies, project future costs and share comparisons and calculations with family, friends or a financial professional.

"Understanding long term care costs in your local market and how these costs tend to change over time is vital to developing a plan to cover expected future costs," Zabel said. "Genworth's Cost of Care Survey is the most comprehensive of its kind and provides invaluable information on long term care costs that enable family members to conduct informed discussions with loved ones about future long term needs and preferences in order to be more informed consumers of long term care services."

Now in its 9th year, Genworth's Cost of Care Survey provides Americans with both national and local long term care cost data, as well as information on cost inflation over time. Resources include an interactive long term care map (also available as a free downloadable iPhone and iPad App) of long term care costs in 437 regions across all 50 states, including two in Hawaii.

Additional Resources:

About Genworth's 2012 Cost of Care Survey

Genworth's Cost of Care Survey is the most comprehensive study of its kind, covering nearly 15,300 long term care providers nationwide. The survey includes 437 regions which cover all Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined for the 2010 U.S. Census. Genworth annually surveys the cost of long term care across the U.S. to help Americans plan for the potential costs associated with the various types of long term care available in their preferred location and setting. 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. Genworth's 2012 Cost of Care Survey was conducted during January, February and March 2012.

About Genworth Financial

Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a leading Fortune 500 insurance holding company that is dedicated to helping people secure their financial lives, families and futures. Genworth has leadership positions in offerings that assist consumers in protecting themselves, investing for the future and planning for retirement -- including life insurance, long term care insurance, financial protection coverages, and independent advisor-based wealth management -- and mortgage insurance that helps consumers achieve homeownership while assisting lenders in managing their risk and capital. Genworth has approximately 6,500 employees and operates through three segments: Retirement and Protection, U.S. Mortgage Insurance and International. Its products and services are offered through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists. Genworth Financial, Inc., which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more information, visit genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth Financial, Inc. 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

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT