According to John Hancock’s 2011 Cost of Care Survey, other senior care options are even more expensive that non-medical care:

• The 2011 average cost of a private nursing home room was $235 a day/ $85,775 annually.
• The 2011 average cost of a semi-private nursing home room was $207 a day/ $75,555 annually.
• The 2011 average cost for a month in an assisted living facility was $3,270 a month/ $39,240 annually.
• The 2011 average cost for a home health aide was $20 hourly/$37,440 annually.

Unlike for home care services, Medicare will pay for some of these types of services; however, as most caregivers know, the senior is still responsible for a heavy portion of these expenses.  More importantly, these services, with the exception of home health aides, are full-time expenses that require a senior to move out of the comfortable surroundings of their own home.

Home care services, both home health and non-medical, are often only required for a few hours a week in order to make a significant impact on the seniors’ lives and allow them to continue to remain in their own homes.  That could represent a savings of thousands of dollars a month, when compared to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.