Long Term Health Costs

Study examines rising cost of long-term care.
The Boston Globe (1/12, Costa) reports, "A recent study by MetLife indicates that the cost of long term care continues to rise much faster than the general rate of inflation. The study found that the average daily rate in 2010 for a private room in a nursing home was $229 or over $83,500 per year. That represents an increase of 4.6 percent versus the 2009 figure of $219 per day." Notably, "the average cost of a semi-private room is now $205 per day or almost $75,000. That represents an increase of 3.5 percent from the 2009 cost of $198 per day. And what about the cost of a stay in an assisted living facility? Those rates increased 5.2 percent from 2009 to 2010 and the average monthly rate is now $3,293." However, "in one piece of good news, the cost for in-home health care assistant remained constant at $21 per hour."