The cost of nursing homes and other assisted living facilities continues to rise significantly.

The cost of nursing homes and other assisted living facilities continues to rise significantly, according to the Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs conducted by insurance provider MetLife. Private-room nursing home rates rose 4.6% in 2010, increasing to an average of $229 per day or $83,585 per year, while assisted living rose 5.2% on average to $3,293 per month, or $39,516 per year.

"The cost of care in nursing homes and assisted living has been and continues to be high and, in the past year, the increases have even outpaced medical care inflation of about 3%," Sandra Timmermann, director of the Metlife Mature Market Institute said in a press release. "As the population ages, there are more and more people among us who will need long-term care."

However, the costs for home health aides and adult day services were unchanged in the past year. Home health aide costs remain at an average price of $21 per hour, while adult day services costs are still $67 per day.

The need for a cost effective alternative to full-time care has helped the adult day services industry grow during the past few years, too. According to the survey, there are more than 4,600 adult day service centers nationwide, a 35% increase since 2002. During that same period, those served by these centers have increased by more than 100,000.

By comparison, nearly 1 million people live in approximately 39,500 full-time assisted living residences in the U.S., according to current estimates from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. The average age of an assisted living resident is 86.9 years old, and the median length of stay in assisted living is 29.3 months.

"While families continue to provide the lion’s share of care, paid care is commonly part of the equation" Timmermann said.

Therefore, families must contact Senior Life Care Planning to protect their assets, to insure their quality of life and dignity. Senior Life Care Planning, LLC will help you:

• Protect your assets.
• Preserve your wealth for future generations.
• Address housing, family, health, and social issues. 
• Address your financial concerns. 
• Determine how to pay for long term care
• Provide care coordination services to protect and promote your quality of life
• Resolve Medicaid eligibility problems and coverage.