Semi-Private Rooms Rise 3.9%
Home Health Care Rates Remain Steady
According to MetLife Market Survey

Westport, CT – September 28, 2006 – The average daily cost of a private room in a nursing home in the United States is $206 per day or $75,190 annually, according to the annual MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs, conducted by the company’s Mature Market Institute®. The cost represents an increase from last year’s $203 of 1.5%. The highest rates, once again, were reported in Alaska where the cost is $578 per day. The lowest were in the Shreveport area of Louisiana at $111. Nationally, the semi-private room rate rose 3.9% to $183 per day from $176.

The study found that the cost of a home health care aide averaged $19 per hour nationally, the same as last year, while homemaker/companion care averages $17 per hour, also unchanged from 2005. The lowest costs for both home health care aides and homemaker companions are in Shreveport, Louisiana where the cost for each is $12 per hour. The highest cost for a home health care aide is in Rochester, Minnesota at $29 per hour. Homemaker/companions cost the most in Rochester, Minnesota and Charleston, South Carolina at $23.

"While the cost for a semi-private nursing home rose almost 4% this past year, the cost for home care remains relatively stable," said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute and a gerontologist. "It is clear, however, that long-term care costs are high. If such care is needed, which is a greater probability as the population ages, there will be a significant impact on one’s assets. Those approaching retirement age should be making plans for the possibility that they will need long-term care at some point in the future."

The average daily nursing home costs per market for a private room are:

The average hourly home health care aide and homemaker/companion costs are:

The growth in the over age 85 population in nursing homes mirrors that of the U.S. population in general, where this group accounted for 1% of the total population in 1980 and 1.5% in 2000, a 50% increase, according to a 2003 U.S. Census Bureau report. With the availability of alternative long-term care settings such as assisted living and increasing home care options, residents in nursing homes tend to be older and frailer. Of current nursing home residents, 72% are women, and only 9.7% of all residents are under the age of 65, according to the 1999 National Nursing Home Survey, the most recent government figures available. Three-quarters of current residents aged 65 years and older need help with three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). More than half of current nursing home residents have been there for at least one year. The discharge of residents with stays of three months or less doubled between 1977 and 1999, stated a 2005 report from the National Center for Health Statistics, reflecting nursing homes’ increased role in rehabilitative or post-acute care.

More than 1.3 million patients received home health care services (acute and long-term care) from 7,200 agencies during 2000; 70% of the patients were 65 years of age or older. Most of the patients received skilled care (75%), with 44% receiving personal care and 37% receiving therapeutic services. Fifty-one percent received help with at least one activity of daily living, and the average length of service was 312 days, reported in 2004 from the National Center for Health Statistics. Data on homemaker or companion services nationally is not available.

The MetLife market survey of private pay rates for nursing homes and home care agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia was conducted by telephone in July and August 2006. LifePlans, Inc., a risk management and consulting services firm providing support to the long-term care industry, conducted the survey for the MetLife Mature Market Institute. The areas surveyed within the states were chosen on the basis of population to obtain a reasonably balanced sampling. A minimum of ten nursing homes or 15%, whichever was greater, and a minimum of 15% of home care agencies or five, whichever was greater, were surveyed in each area. In some areas, in order to meet the criteria, it was necessary to expand the survey statewide. In the 2006 market survey, Baton Rouge replaced New Orleans.

The MetLife Mature Market Institute is the company’s information and policy resource center on issues related to aging, retirement, long-term care and the mature market. The Institute, staffed by gerontologists, provides research, training and education, consultation and information to support Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, its corporate customers and business partners. MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), is a leading provider of insurance and other financial services to individuals and institutional customers.

LifePlans, Inc., which conducted the analysis for the MetLife Mature Market Institute, is a risk management and consulting firm that provides data analysis and information to the long-term care insurance industry. The firm works with insurers, the Federal Government, industry groups and other organizations to conduct research that helps these groups monitor their business, understand industry trends, perform effective advocacy, and modify their strategic direction.

The entire MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs can be found at: www.maturemarketinstitute.com under "What’s New."