According to the 2012 MetLife Market Survey of Long Term Care Costs, the average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home is $90,520.⁷ The national average annual cost for a semiprivate room in a nursing home is only slightly lower at $81,030. Based on previous increases, these annual costs are expected to increase substantially in the years ahead.

Assisted living facility average annual rates generally range from $28,260 to $71,196 per year, depending on the region of the country, with an average of $42,600. This cost, too, is expected to rise substantially.

The average hourly cost for home health care aides is just as location-dependent and varies from $16 per hour to about double that. The current average cost per hour for a home health aide visit is about $21.

Average adult day care costs range from about $31 per day to $140 per day, depending on location, and currently average about $70. Like all other long-term care costs, adult day care costs are expected to increase in the coming years.

While the projected future costs for these long-term care services are staggering, current costs are fairly significant as well. Furthermore, the magnitude of these costs for many individuals means that by the time they die they will have exhausted all of their assets and be relying on state and federal programs for the indigent.