Illinois Senior Care Costs

Senior care costs matter, whether you have a lot of money or a little money.  Caregiverlist takes a look at Illinois senior care costs to help you plan for your own retirement care needs.  Medicare does not pay for long-term care and Medicaid, a program replacing Medicare for low-income seniors, is administered jointly between the state and federal governments and because of this provide different benefits in each state.

When Diane Vargas’* mother was released from the hospital after shoulder surgery, Diane was told that her mother was going to need 24/7 help for at least one week. The surgery was “same day” and so didn’t qualify for Medicare-covered 100-day post-operative rehabilitative nursing home stay. And while mom would receive bi-weekly one hour home visits from a nurse and physical therapist, it was clear that the family needed to find other care options.

Illinois senior care costs vary depending on the location of the senior and if they are receiving care in the home or in a nursing home.  

“My mother’s been living independently since my father died 14 years ago. I and those of my siblings who live in the area shop for her, drive her to church every week and visit as much as we can, but some of us also have families of our own to care for.” When the doctors informed her that living alone, at least for the time being, was no longer an option, the family had to quickly determine their course of action.  “As a family, we were not prepared to provide her needed level of care.” They found themselves with several eldercare options, with varying degrees of cost.

Long-Term Care or Convalescent Care Nursing Home

Illinois seniors can view the daily cost for a nursing home in Illinois can be as low as $85 per day for a semi-private room in rural Illinois to as high as $425 per night for a single in a posh suburban North Shore Chicago nursing home. The average nursing home cost in Illinois is $175 per night for a semi-private room and $193 per night for a private room, with Chicago-area nursing home costs averaging $215 per night.

Medicare covers nursing homes costs if they the senior has had a three-day hospital stay followed by the need for skilled care. In the best-case scenario, Medicare will pay 100% of the cost of the nursing home stay for 100 days of coverage. If the senior needs to stay beyond the 100 covered days, unless the senior has Long Term Care Insurance, the alternative is private pay. Medicaid will only pay if a senior has significant income and asset limitations.

Connecticut nursing homes are the nation’s most expensive with an average nightly cost of $352 per night (Alaska is an anomaly at  $743 per night) and the least expensive nursing home prices are found in Missouri at an average of $145 per night. Nursing home costs could increase by as much as 85% over the next 20 years, some projections show.

Assisted Living Communities

Assisted living is a slightly less expensive option, but many families feel it’s a permanent move, needs more planning and, as such, cannot be used for crisis care.

“That’s not necessarily so,” says Nancy Siegel, Senior Living Advisor at Senior Living Experts. “Some assisted living communities provide short-term respite apartments for crisis situations. A monthly resident can receive the same level of care as permanent residents." These respite stay apartments can be just a few dollars more per month that a permanent residency and many assisted living facilities have promotional pricing to introduce seniors and family to the assisted living lifestyle.

An assisted living communities typically have a choice of studio, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments with access to care on request. Illinois assisted living costs average between $4500 - $6500 per month, depending on apartment rent, level of care, and optional services. Licensed assisted living caregivers are on staff and available at all times, day and night.

Senior Home Care

When the senior care needed is of a non-medical nature, a senior home care agency can provide a home care companion to help with getting dressed, walking, other basic activities of daily living. If the senior requires more help, such as toileting, feeding and range of motion exercises, the agency can provide a home health aide or a Certified Nursing Aide. If the family is providing the bulk of care, senior home care agencies can provide short-term respite care for a family caregiver. Hourly prices can range from $15-$30. If around-the-clock care is needed, an agency might recommend a day-rate live-in caregiver, although it may be more economical to pursue assisted living or nursing home care.

Home care agencies traditionally hire senior home caregivers at a rate higher than the minimum wage in order to entice a more attractive candidate — a starting hourly wage for an Illinois caregiver can be over $9.00. Illinois Governor Quinn proposed an increase in minimum wage in his recent State of the State address . Pending legislation would raise the minimum wage to $10.65 from its current $8.25 per hour. The proposed minimum wage hike could see home care agency prices rise in Illinois.

Charmaine Conaghan, owner of Always Best Care in Glenview is hoping to avoid a cost increase, but sees this could be a great problem, especially if families feel they will save money and “hire-direct.”

“Unfortunately, when a family hires a home caregiver directly, they forego all the benefits a home care agency can provide. Besides background checks and drug tests, agencies provide workman’s compensation, insurance and handle all employment taxes." 

“If a caregiver goes out to get mail in the snow, slips and sustains an injury, that family’s estate will be liable. Also, the IRS looks closely at families who don’t report themselves as employers and will go after the estate if they have not paid employment taxes. These are non-issues when dealing with a home care agency.” When you pay for in-home care through an agency, you are paying for more than the care, you pay for all administrative costs associated with being an employer.

Eldercare decisions can arise suddenly, as they did in the Vargas family. Families should consider hiring a good  Geriatric Care Manager  to assess care needs and devise a care plan for ongoing care services. Caregiverlist also provides a Care Concierge so that families can get information and plan for care before it is a critical necessity.

Costs for senior care in Illinois, along with the rest of the country are rising. The Baby Boom generation is the largest and longest lived generation to date, and have reached or will soon reach the age where they and their families will need to decide upon senior care. By 2030, all baby boomers will have reached the age of 65 or older, and will comprise a full 18% of the U.S. population. Research shows that at least 70 percent of people over 65 will need long term care services and support at some point in their lifetime.

Illinois Senior Care Costs at a Glance