Long-term care costs are increasing in West Virginia
April 11, 2012
A survey of about 15,300 long-term care providers in the U.S., conducted by Genworth Financial, indicated that the cost of long-term care in West Virginia is rising, according to The Associated Press.
During the last five years, the price of an assisted living facility in West Virginia grew 5.9 percent annually to $36,000, while private nursing home costs rose 4.5 percent annually to more than $88,000.
Meanwhile, home health services increased 2.7 percent annually to $16 an hour.
"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 positive for consumers in West Virginia," said Steve Zabel, senior vice president of Long Term Care at Genworth, quoted by the news source.
Competition is keeping home care costs stable, he added.
These results may have implications for West Virginia's population of seniors aged 65 years or older, which is expected to grow by about 13 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Effective Services and Trends in Home Health Care
