Costs and alternatives to long-term care

Long-term care is horrifyingly expensive – as The New York Times pointed out in an analysis this week, entitled "ignore Long-Term Care at Your Peril."

Long-term care insurer Genworth offers this 2010 online state-by-state calculator of the cost of long-term care. The government offered these nationwide cost of care estimates in 2009:

• $198/day for a semi-private room in a nursing home- $72,270 per year

• $219/day for a private room in a nursing home- $79,935 per year

• $3,131/month for care in an Assisted Living Facility ($37,572 for a one-bedroom unit for a year)

• $21/hour for a Home Health Aide, $61,320 for 8 hours a day for a year

• $19/hour for a Homemaker service, $55,480 for 8 hours a day for a year