One of the ways people pay for long term care is through the use of home equity and a new report from LTC Financial Partners estimates the rising cost of care is consuming nearly three square feet of homeowners equity per day.
“Five years ago we started translating long term care costs into square feet of real estate, to highlight the heavy burden of paying for care,” says Denise Gott, LTCFP’s Chairman of the Board. “In July of 2005 we calculated that the average national cost for a private room in a nursing home was ‘eating up’ two square feet of the average American home each and every day.”
Now, in 2010, it’s gotten worse, she reports. “Care costs are consuming nearly three square feet per day, 2.88 to be precise.”
The company developed the estimate using the national average annual cost for a private room in a nursing home from the latest MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Homes.
She observes, “When you reflect on how quickly care costs are eating up our home equity, the question naturally arises, what can we do about it?” Long term care insurance is the answer for millions, she says. “It protects your home and your savings, and the right policy can be very affordable.”
LTCFP opened Reverse Mortgage Direct, a reverse mortgage affiliate earlier this year that is lead by John Stephens as President.
