Kansas nursing homes among the best value in the nation
2:15 p.m. Monday, July 28, 2008
Nursing home costs continue to rise, and that can be a major challenge to families trying to care for their children and their aging parents, but despite the expense, the AARP says Kansas is actually one of the most affordable states for nursing home care.
The organization released a study with the average nursing home care costs for each of the 50 states.
Out of the 50 states, Kansas is one of the least expensive when it comes to the cost of nursing home care. Kansas is the 3rd least expensive. Here, it costs an average of $133 a day to care for a resident in a nursing home.
The most expensive state is Alaska at $515 a day average nursing home care costs. The cheapest is Louisiana: $125 a day.
Cindy Luxem, with the Kansas Health Care Association, says it's impressive for providers to keep costs down, especially when you consider what that $133 a day pays for.
"It's transportation. It's food. It's nursing service 24 hours a day. It is, depending on the situation with heir medicines, some of those may be provided. It is pretty much whatever anyone needs in that 24 hour period, that's what is involved in that $133," Luxem said.
Even though it is less expensive in Kansas, it's still not cheap for a family on a budget. At $133 a day for nursing home care, that adds up to $48,545 every year.
Even in Kansas, long-term care costs are rising faster than the rate of inflation.
Luxem says that makes it even more important for people to consider long-term care insurance to protect themselves and their families if nursing home care becomes a necessity.
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