New Genworth Cost of Care Data Show Rising Home Care Costs + Rising Demand for Home-Based Care

​Genworth’s latest Cost of Care report shows the highest year-over-year increase in the cost of homecare services at a time when the majority of long-term care recipients are choosing to receive care in their own homes.  Even with the increase, the median annual cost of home care, $61,776, is still significantly less expensive than the median annual cost of a nursing home, $108,405.

The reported national median cost in 2021 for homemaker services is $26 per hour and $27 per hour for home health aide services. These prices represent an average increase of 10.64% and 12.5%, respectively, year-over-year compared to the previous year.
 
The core driver of increases in the cost of care is supply and demand. On the supply side, due to changes in the minimum wage, increasing labor costs across industries and country greatly impact the rates of homecare services. On the demand side, the vast majority of care recipients say they want to age and receive care in their homes.
 
According to Genworth, every day until 2030, 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 and seven out of ten of them will require long-term care services at some point. The level of care needed by this rapidly aging population has itself increased over the years. The high turnover rate and insufficient supply of professionals to meet this growing demand pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic, but are now amplified as those providing care on the frontline must consider their own risk of exposure against increasing opportunities for competitive salaries in alternative lines of work.
 
Click here for more information from the report and to view state-by-state comparison data.