Growth in Long Term Care Costs in Tennessee Outpacing Inflation, According to Annual Genworth Finan...( Study Gives Tennessee Residents Acces...),Health

Study Gives Tennessee Residents Access to Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Care and Adult Day Health Care Costs in Nearly Every Zip Code Statewide

RICHMOND, Va., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The cost of long term care in Tennessee are rising at a rate outpacing inflation, putting significant financial pressure on those nearing retirement, according to an annual study by Genworth Financial. At the same time, the current economic downturn has led to a decline in home values and investment returns for many residents of Tennessee, creating further financial planning challenges for many in the state.

Nationwide, the annual cost for a private nursing home room is $74,208, or $203 per day, representing an increase of 4 percent annually since 2005. This represents a rate of growth nearly twice that of the median annual inflation rate of 2.3 percent over the same period of time, measured using the Core CPI (which excludes food and fuel) reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Tennessee's three largest cities surveyed, this cost has risen 3 percent per year since 2005 in Memphis and 2 percent a year in Nashville over the same period of time. Comparable cost data for Knoxville is unavailable. Costs in Johnson City have risen 6 percent a year over the past five years.

Since 2004, Genworth has surveyed the cost of long term care across the U.S. to provide Americans with a clear understanding of the cost of care in their part of the country. With this knowledge, individuals and families can begin to prudently plan for these potential costs. The most comprehensive study of its kind, Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout(R), covers more than 14,000 nursing homes, assisted
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