Alaska is the most expensive state for nursing home care. According to a survey released Tuesday by Metlife's Mature Market Institute, the average cost for a private room in Alaska was a whopping $687 a day. The next closest state is Connecticut, at $376, followed by Hawaii ($364), New York ($350), and Massachusetts ($329).
The Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs also shows that the cost of nursing home and assisted living care is still rising "significantly." Private room nursing home rates, according to the survey, rose 4.6% to $229 per day, or $83,585 per year, and assisted living charges rose an average of 5.2%, to $3,293 per month, or $39,516 per year. Increases from 2008 to 2009 amounted to 3.3%.
Home health aide and adult day care services, in contrast, held steady at $21 per hour for the former and $67 per day for the latter.
The five least expensive states for nursing home care were Louisiana, at $141 per day; Minnesota ($154); Arkansas ($155); Missouri ($157); and Kansas ($158).
