June 1, 2009 |

Midwest offers most LTC affordability, choice

Richmond, Va.-A new survey shows Americans seeking affordable long-term care options will find the Midwest offers the most choices at the lowest cost. The Northeast and West Coast states generally offer fewer affordable alternatives, according to findings of a national cost of care survey released by Genworth Financial.

Genworth’s 2009 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout, covers more than 14,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health and adult day healthcare providers in 331 regions across America. According to the Choice & Affordability Index, the top 10 states for nursing home care affordability and choice include:

Iowa
South Dakota
Kansas
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Missouri
Arkansas
Wyoming
Louisiana

The cost of care in a nursing home or assisted living facility continues to rise at a rate nearly twice that of the median annual inflation rate of 2.3% over the same period of time, measured using the Core CPI (which excludes food and fuel) reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual cost for a private nursing home room is $74,208, or $203 per day, representing an increase of 4% annually since 2005. At this rate, the cost is expected to exceed $270,000 a year in 30 years, when the nation’s youngest baby boomers will be in their mid-70s, according to Genworth.

The annual cost for a one-bedroom unit in an assisted living facility is $33,903, excluding any one-time community or entrance fees, a 5% increase annually since 2005. The cost for this type of care is forecasted to exceed $220,000 in 40 years, when the youngest baby boomers will be in their mid-80s.

There are approximately 4,000 adult day healthcare centers in the U.S., according to the National Adult Day Services Association. The daily cost for this type of care is $53.59 nationally, or $12,862 per year, assuming five days per week of care. Full results of Genworth’s 2009 Cost of Care Survey, including the Choice & Affordability Index, an interactive map of the cost of care in all 50 states and 331 geographic regions, is available online at https://Genworth.com/CostofCare.

Upcoming conference date can go here?

In a report by researchers at the Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging, multidrug-resistant gram-negative (MDRGN) bacteria are becoming a greater problem as a source of treatment-resistant infection in long-term care (LTC) facilities than methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). MDRGN infection can lead to toxins in the bloodstream that cause inflammation, destroying healthy tissue. If untreated, an MDRGN infection can be fatal. Over the two years of this epidemiologic study, the infection rates of MDGRN grew from 7% to 13%.

The study found that more than 80% of the MDRGN cases were resistant to at least three commonly prescribed treatments. In its full report, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, researchers raised concerns about the therapeutic options available to physicians in treating LTC residents. Risk factors for susceptibility to the MDRGN bacteria include pressure ulcers, exposure to antimicrobials, and/or poor functional status. Hospitals and LTC facilities have started to include MDRGN in their surveillance for antimicrobial bacteria and have extended requirements for contact precautions.