When choosing a long-term care solution for yourself or a loved one, there are many decisions to make. In-home care is the solution usually preferred by older adults who need long-term care and their loved ones, and there are advantages to remaining at home. Home is more familiar, less hassle, more comfortable, and, most assume, more affordable than a senior living community. You may also think having one monthly bill that includes rent, healthcare, services, and amenities might be less expensive. But is in-home care less expensive than senior living? How do you decide? Let’s compare the cost of in-home care to senior living.
The Cost of Home Care
It’s easy to assume that staying at home will be significantly less than moving into a senior living community, especially if your mortgage is paid off. However, home care is more expensive than you think, particularly if medical or daily personal care assistance is needed. Even if your mortgage is paid off, you still need to consider the following expenses:
- Utilities
- Food
- Transportation
- Home repairs
- Inside and outside maintenance
- Property taxes and insurance
- Possible home renovations for ramps, grab bars, walk-in showers, stairlifts
- Upgraded safety features like security systems, medical alerts, and fall technology
- Cost of an in-home caregiver
Hiring someone to assist with daily tasks like cleaning, cooking, and running errands can cost $4,957 per month. If extensive help is needed with personal care, prepare to pay as much as $5,148 per month.
As you can see, in-home care costs can build up quickly. So, make sure you carefully consider all your expenses before making a decision.
The Cost of Senior Living
Senior living includes assisted living, retirement, continuing care, and skilled nursing communities. Your amenities, medical professionals, caregivers, services, and activities are all on-site with senior living.
Senior living community costs can vary dramatically depending on your state, the type of community, the amount of care, and the assistance needed with activities of daily living (ADLs).
Costs of a senior living community are based on the following factors:
- Amenities
- Services
- Type of residence
- Cost structure
- Amount of medical care needed
According to Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey, an Assisted Living Community’s median monthly cost can be $4500 and a whopping $9,034 for a private room in a skilled nursing community. Check out Genworth’s cost of care calculator to get an idea of your area’s monthly cost of senior living care.
Helpful Tip: Evaluate the cost of care in each community you visit. Prices can be different between communities in the same state or even the same city!
Make sure you carefully compare the cost of home care to senior living before making your choice. Your financial advisor or a senior living professional can also be helpful resources.
About Notre Dame Health Care
Notre Dame Health Care (NDHC) offers a range of post-acute programs and services to the community, including an Assisted Living Residence; Adult & Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care; Post-Acute Recuperation; Short-Term Rehabilitation; Skilled Nursing and traditional Long Term Care; Specialized Memory Care; and an educational resource center which serves our employees and community. We embrace the individuality, spirituality, and wholeness of each member of our community, including our residents, patients, families, volunteers, and staff.
Notre Dame Health Care is proudly non-profit and honored to carry on the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to care for the sick and vulnerable and to educate for life through our NDHC Educational Bridge Center.
Notre Dame Health Care
555-559 Plantation Street
Worcester, MA 01605
(508) 852-5800
notredamehealthcare.org