The MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs

The 2006 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs. The MetLife Mature Market Institute conducts an annual a market survey of nursing home and home care costs in the United States. The 2006 survey was conducted by telephone in 87 major markets in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by LifePlans, Inc., a risk management and consulting services firm. Daily private pay rates for long-term (custodial) care were obtained for private and semi-private rooms in licensed facilities. Hourly private-pay rates were obtained for home health aides from licensed agencies and for agency-provided homemaker/companion services.

In the United States, the average daily rate for a private room in a nursing home was $206 and a semi-private room averaged $183 in 2006; the average hourly rate for a home health aide was $19, while home-maker rates averaged $17. Daily nursing home rates and home care rates varied by geographic region:

• Private room nursing home rates in the Shreveport, Louisiana area were the lowest at an average of $111 per day; rates in Alaska were the highest at $578 daily
   
• Semi-private room rates varied between the average daily rate of $104 in Shreveport, Louisiana, to $570 per day in Alaska
   
• Home health aides in Memphis, Tennessee, charged an average of $12 per hour with a range of $10 to $15, which is less than half the average hourly rate of $29 and range of $22 to $38 reported in Rochester, Minnesota.
   
• Home-maker average hourly rates were lowest in Shreveport, Louisiana at $12 with a range of $8 to $15; the highest average hourly rate was $23 in both Rochester, Minnesota, and Charleston, South Carolina. Hourly rates in Rochester varied between $17 and $33; rates in Charleston varied between $15 and $45