Long-term-care expenses soaring | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Long-term-care expenses soaring | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Friday, May 1, 2009

Long-term-care expenses soaring

By Greg Wiles
Advertiser Staff Writer

The cost of receiving long-term care in Hawai'i continues to be more expensive than in most of the rest of the country, with expenses rising faster than inflation, according to a new study.

The Genworth 2009 Cost of Care Survey found that a private nursing home room in Honolulu has a median cost of $123,005 a year, almost two-thirds more than the $74,208 median nationally.

The costs are higher on the Neighbor Islands, where the median is $152,342.

Hawai'i has for years had more expensive long-term care than the Mainland, with the higher cost of living, the number of elderly people, and a long-term bed shortage contributing. The cost of a private nursing home room in Honolulu has risen 8 percent annually over the past five years, the study said.

Costs of six other long-term-care options run substantially higher than those nationally, according to the study:

Rates for non-Medicare-certified people providing homemaker services, sometimes referred to as personal care assistants or companions, were $19 an hour in Honolulu and $23 on the Neighbor Islands. That compares with the national median of $17.48.

Home health aide hands-on medical care was $22 an hour in Honolulu and $18.50 nationally. On the Neighbor Islands, the median was $25 an hour.

Medicare-certified home health aide services commanded an hourly rate of $24 in Honolulu, less than the national average median of $46.22. The Neighbor Island rate was substantially more, at $76 an hour.

The median daily rate for adult day healthcare was $65 for Honolulu and the Neighbor Islands. The national average median rate for these workers, who provide social and other related support services in a community-based setting, was $53.59.

A semi-private room in a nursing home cost $267 a day in Honolulu and $351 on the Neighbor Islands. That compares with $183.25 nationally.

Assisted-living facilities had a monthly median rate of $3,500 in Honolulu, and $2,500 elsewhere in the state. The national average was $2,825.25.

The study was conducted by Genworth's CareScout unit during the first three months of 2009. Genworth is a financial services company with a product line that includes long-term-care insurance and Medicare supplement insurance.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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