Thursday, October 29, 2009

Holy Smokes … Prices Have Gone Up Again!

MetLife just released its Market Survey for Long-Term Costs, and it seems that prices have gone up since I wrote A Boomer’s Guide to Long-term Care. On page 4, I had written that the basic cost of long-term care in the U.S. was:

  • $66,795 per year for a semi-private nursing home room,
  • $75,190 per year for a private room,
  • And $19 per hour for a home health aid.

But that was back in 2006! Now, according to MetLife, the cost has shot up to:

  • $72,270 per year for a semi-private nursing home room,
  • $79,935 per year for a private room,
  • And $21 per hour for a home health aid.

The newest numbers don’t mean that my book is out of date. All of the strategies I give to protect your wealth and assure you can get the quality of care you want are still as valid as the day I wrote them. And as far as ObamaCare doing anything to help you … according to The Washington Post, here’s what Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) had to say: "a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff would have been proud of." The deal is that you would begin paying premiums immediately, but you couldn’t get any benefits until 2016. Then you’d be eligible for $75 a day, an increase since I reported on September 24. Let’s break out the calculator ... In today’s dollars, $75 a day would cover about 34% of the cost for a private room ($75 ÷ $219) … not a heck of a lot. But remember, the Obama plan won’t pay a single cent until 2016 … six years from now. So if we figure a 5% annual increase (health care costs typically outpace inflation), a $219 room will cost $293! And the $75 will only represent 25% of your cost. You’d be $218 short each and every day you need care. That’s a whopping $79,570 out of your pocket for the year. If you are willing to stay in a semi-private room, the amount you’ll have to cough up a mind-blowing $69,474. I’ll probably wait until ObamaCare passes before updating A Boomer’s Guide to Long-term Care … just so the numbers are accurate. In the meantime, I urge you to pick your copy. Simply click here. Because no matter what Washington throws in the kettle, it’s not going to be enough in case your health changes. Best wishes, George

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