“Rates for home health care have remained relatively stable over the past few years,” explains Jesse Slome, executive director of the organization that represents several thousand long term care insurance professionals.  “However, costs can vary significantly from one market to another and even among service providers within a particular locale.”

Home care service costs compiled by the Association have been published in the 2012 Long Term Care Insurance Sourcebook dramatize the spread.  Boston had the highest hourly rate reported for a home health aide ($39) while Dallas / Fort Worth reported the lowest ($12).

According to the Association, half (50.0%) of all new long-term care insurance claims opened during 2011 began with the policyholder receiving care at home.  Less than one-third of new claims began with the recipient receiving care in a nursing home the Association reports.

“Long-term care insurance has really become nursing home avoidance protection,” Slome explains.  “Today, people purchase this important protection in order to receive care in their own home for as long as possible.  When costs remain stable, people are able to purchase more affordable levels of insurance coverage that will pay for longer periods of time.”

The following is a sampling of home health aide hourly rates from the Association’s 2012-2013 Long Term Care Insurance Sourcebook provided free of charge to the organization’s members.

Average           Low           High

Atlanta, GA          $21                  $16            $24
Boston, MA         $27                  $21            $39
Chicago, IL            $23                  $16            $30

Los Angeles, CA   $21                  $14            $28

New York, NY       $20                   $16       $23
Seattle, WA            $24                  $20      $28

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