Long-term care costs less in Dallas, survey finds

Long-term care costs less in Dallas, survey finds

08:27 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 13, 2009

By BOB MOOS / The Dallas Morning News
bmoos@dallasnews.com

Dallas is one of the more affordable places in the country for long-term care.

The median cost of a private room at a Dallas nursing home is $150 a day, 26 percent lower than the national median of $203 and 14 percent lower than the $175 rate in Austin, Houston or San Antonio, a new survey from Genworth Financial says.

The median monthly charge for a Dallas assisted-living community is $2,788, compared with the national median of $2,825. Genworth Financial found that assisted living in Dallas is also cheaper than in Texas' other major metropolitan areas – $3,425 a month in Austin, $3,195 in Houston and $2,895 in San Antonio.

The survey found that nursing home rates have risen only an average of 1 percent annually since 2005 in Dallas, compared with 4.3 percent nationally, 7 percent in Austin and 5 percent in San Antonio. Costs dropped an average of 2 percent a year in Houston.

Meanwhile, assisted-living charges have gone up an average of 3 percent per year since 2005 in Dallas, a slower pace than the 4.7 percent annual increase nationally and the yearly increases in other Texas cities – 12 percent in Houston, 9 percent in San Antonio and 4 percent in Austin.

Skilled nursing care and assisted living tend to be relatively resistant to economic downturns, since they're largely driven by individuals' state of health. But senior care experts say the recent slowdown in some rate increases may be partly a result of families keeping elderly members at home longer for both personal and economic reasons.

As the recession has deepened, some geriatric care managers have also noticed more families choosing home care over assisted-living communities in hopes of paring expenses. But geriatric care coordinators warn that home care's hourly rates can add up and sometimes match or exceed an assisted-living community's monthly bill.

In Dallas, the median hourly rate is $18 for homemaker services and $25 for a Medicare-certified home health aide, according to Genworth Financial.