Genworth and CareScout Release Cost of Care Survey Results for 2024
Growth in homemaker and assisted living community costs outpace other care types, with 10% year-over-year growth
Home health aide and homemaker service rates begin to converge
RICHMOND, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
The cost of long-term care services increased across all care types, according to the 2024 Cost of Care Survey conducted by Genworth and CareScout. While homemaker and assisted living community 1 costs increased the most at 10%, the increase for most care types continued to outpace inflation2.
“Genworth and CareScout are committed to helping our customers create person-centered plans for how they want to receive care as they age,” said Jamala Arland, President & CEO, Genworth U.S. Life Insurance. “That means integrating a person’s values, preferences, and goals into the care they receive. The Cost of Care Survey is a great resource for individuals starting to create a plan, who want to learn more about different care types and see how costs may grow over time.”
Cost of Care
The 2024 survey found the costs of long-term care services increased since 2023:
- The cost of a home health aide,which includes “hands-on” personal assistance with activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating, has increased 3% to an annual median cost of $77,792.3 Homemaker services, which include assistance with “hands-off” tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and running errands, have increased 10% to an annual median cost of $75,504.3
Driving the outsized increase in homemaker services is the compression between home health aide and homemaker service rates. Two-thirds of home care agencies surveyed now charge the same rate for both types of service, where the less clinical homemaker tasks historically have demanded lower rates.
- The annual national median cost for adult day care was $26,0004, a 5% increase over the prior year.
- Assisted living community costs increased by 10% to an annual national median cost of $70,800 per year. Occupancy rates increased year-over-year, from 77% to 84%, which may be pressuring supply and driving higher rates.
- The national annual median cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home rose to $111,325, an increase of 7%, while the cost of a private room in a nursing home increased 9% to $127,750.
“We make plans to buy a house, send our kids to college, and even to retire, but few Americans plan for future long-term care needs. The Cost of Care Survey is a great tool to inform this essential planning as families consider how they’ll pay for care should they need it,” said A. Lynn White, CEO, CareScout Insurance. “CareScout is poised to assist in that planning with our inaugural long-term care insurance product, which we expect to make available later this year.”
Cost Drivers
2024 survey participants reported:
- Inflation was the top factor contributing to cost increases for assisted living communities, nursing homes, and adult day care centers.
- For home care services, labor costs were the top contributing factor to cost increases.
“As we built the CareScout Quality Network, we spoke with hundreds of care providers who shared that inflation and labor costs continue to drive rate increases,” said Samir Shah, President & CEO CareScout Services. “If you couple these economic factors with the growing demand for long-term care services as the Baby Boomer generation ages, families are challenged to find high-quality long-term care at affordable prices. The CareScout Quality Network is an important step to help address that challenge.”
The Cost of Care Survey has a new home: www.CareScout.com/cost-of-care. CareScout, a Genworth company, has been part of the Cost of Care survey since its first edition in 2004. Leveraging Genworth’s 50+ years of expertise in long-term care, CareScout is on a mission to help more families understand, find, and fund high-quality long-term care.
Some helpful resources include:
- The Cost of Care Survey tool, an interactive web-based tool to help calculate the median cost of long-term care services in your area.
- National and state median data and ranked state data tables to help you see median costs across care types at-a-glance.
- The CareScout Quality Network, a first-of-its-kind network of long-term care providers who meet high-standards for quality, person-centered care.
- A guide to aging care planning to help care seekers gather and organize information and resources to make the aging journey a smooth one.
- Information about paying for long-term care services for yourself or a loved one.
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Perspectives on person-centered care – what it is and why you should insist on it.
About the 2024 Cost of Care Survey
The annual Cost of Care Survey, one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, contacted more than 140,000 long-term care providers nationwide to complete more than 15,000 surveys for nursing homes, assisted living communities, adult day health facilities and home care providers from July to December 2024. The survey collected rates for 2024 and includes 431 regions based on the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, defined by the Office of Management and Budget as a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core. However, due to statistical variance, actual costs for long-term care services may differ from the projected cost based on ZIP Code or location.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc (“Genworth”) (NYSE: GNW) is a Fortune 500 company focused on empowering families to navigate the aging journey with confidence, now and in the future. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Genworth and its CareScout businesses provide guidance, products, and services that help people understand their caregiving options and fund their long-term care needs. Genworth is also the parent company and majority-owner of publicly traded Enact Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACT), a leading U.S. mortgage insurance provider.
About CareScout
CareScout helps older adults and their families navigate the aging journey and find quality care. Inspired by a mission to simplify and dignify the aging experience, we’re building an integrated ecosystem of care and funding solutions. To learn more about CareScout, visit www.CareScout.com. CareScout, LLC (CareScout) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW).
1 Referred to as Residential Care Facilities in California.
2 “United States Inflation Rate” (https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi), site accessed 02/09/25.
3 Based on 44 hours per week for 52 weeks.
4 Based on 5 days of care a week for 52 weeks.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250301584443/en/
Ryan Clark
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: Virginia United States North America
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Public Policy/Government Seniors Nursing Managed Care General Health Health Healthcare Reform Consumer
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