The cost of nursing home care in Indianapolis is rising faster than in the rest of the country, according to an annual survey
of long-term-care costs by Virginia-based Genworth Financial.
Residents in and around Indianapolis pay nearly $78,700 a year for a private room in a nursing home. That rate has been rising
7 percent a year for the past five years, Genworth’s survey found.
Nationally, the cost of nursing homes is rising 4 percent a year. The average private room at a nursing home costs $74,200
a year—6 percent less than in Indianapolis.
Statewide, private rooms at nursing homes equal the national average.
Rising costs in long-term care are particularly problematic now because many seniors’ retirement savings took a hit in last
year’s meltdown on Wall Street.
"Many Indiana residents who had planned to tap their hard-earned nest egg to cover future long-term-care costs are finding
this may no longer be a viable option given the economic downturn," Buck Stinson, president of Genworth Financial’s insurance
products unit, said in a statement.
The Genworth survey was conducted in January, February and March in all 50 states.
Private rooms in nursing homes are the most expensive type of long-term care. Semi-private rooms average $56,600 in Indianapolis,
according to the Genworth study. Assisted-living facilities cost even less—an average of $35,600 per year.
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