Home care crisis: How rising costs are breaking the middle class

Home care, assisted living costs for older adults have surged over the past five years, straining affordability for middle class families, AARP said

Home care and assisted living costs for older adults and people with disabilities have surged over the past five years, straining affordability for middle class families who struggle to pick up the tab, AARP said in a March 12 report.

The AARP report said the cost of the most common type of long-term services − home care and assisted living services − surged nearly 50% from 2019 through 2024, far outpacing median income growth of 22% for senior households.

Costs of other long-term services also grew more quickly than income for households that must pay for this care without public aid. Adult day service costs jumped 33%, and nursing home care costs increased up to 25%, AARP said.

The report details rising costs of "long-term services and supports," a broad category that describes supportive care such as eating, bathing and dressing people might need due to aging, illness or disability. Authors said the report underscores an affordability crisis millions of families are dealing with as the cost of services for older adults and people with disabilities exceed families means to afford them.

"When this hits, it hits families harder than they expect – and at a higher cost," said Alan Weil, director of AARP's public policy institute.