Cost of care survey shows nursing home costs up 4%

The annual cost for a private nursing home room rose 4.2 percent in 2012 to $81,030, according to the 2012 Cost of Care Survey by Genworth Financial.

By comparison, the median annual cost for care in an assisted living facility rose 1.2 percent to $39,600. (View interactive map of state LTC costs)

The cost of home care remained unchanged from 2011 to 2012, according to the survey. Nationally, the median hourly cost for homemaker services and home health aide services is $18 and $19, respectively.

"Consumer demand for home care services has led to a proliferation of home care services providers and more choice for consumers. This competition has kept home care costs relatively stable, especially when compared to the cost of care in a nursing home or assisted living facility," said Steve Zabel, senior vice president of Long Term Care at Genworth.

Genworth noted that the number of Medicare-certified home care agencies has increased 20 percent between 2008 and present day, and that there are now more than 11,000.

“Conversely, during this same period of time, the number of Medicare-certified nursing homes has increased less than one-half of 1 percent from just over 15,000 to 15,100. The number of nursing homes is increasing at a slower rate and is no longer the only option,” the company stated in a release.