Elder Care Cost Planner Calculator
Estimate total elder care costs by setting, duration, inflation, and benefit offsets (Medicaid, VA, LTC insurance).
About this calculator
This calculator estimates elder care costs across five settings -- in-home aide, adult day care, assisted living, and nursing home at semi-private or private rates -- starting from the 2023 Genworth Cost of Care Survey, the industry-standard annual benchmark (running since 2004) built from tens of thousands of surveyed long-term care providers nationwide, for national medians in each setting, then applying a geographic adjustment before projecting the total over your expected duration with monthly-compounded inflation. In-home care is the only setting priced by hours per week rather than a flat monthly rate, scaling the $5,720 national median (based on 44 hours/week) proportionally to whatever weekly hours you enter; for the other four settings, hours per week has no effect on cost at all, since those are flat monthly-rate settings by definition. No single input dominates the monthly cost estimate the way it might in a simpler calculator: care setting sets the entire base rate, the geographic adjustment then rescales it, and duration and inflation only affect the cumulative total rather than the current monthly figure, so the calculator's cost picture is genuinely built from several roughly co-equal levers rather than one overriding one.
Benefit offsets are modeled separately from the base cost: Medicaid covers up to 85% of nursing-home costs and smaller shares of assisted living and in-home care for eligible households, VA Aid & Attendance offsets up to roughly $2,431 a month, and long-term care insurance offsets the daily benefit amount times 30 days, with total offsets capped at the full monthly cost so the net figure never goes negative. What it does not account for: state-specific Medicaid look-back periods and asset limits, VA benefit amounts that vary by veteran and dependent status, or waiting periods before benefits begin.
Medical Disclaimer
This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of results from this tool.
Inputs
Results
Monthly cost (adjusted)
$5,350.00
Figures current as of 2023. Source: Genworth Financial, Inc. Genworth Cost of Care Survey 2023: Twenty Years of Tracking Long-Term Care Costs.
How to Use This Calculator
- Select the care setting: in-home aide, adult day care, assisted living, or nursing home (semi-private or private).
- If in-home aide is selected, enter hours of care per week -- the national median assumes 44 hrs/week.
- Enter the expected duration of care in months and a geographic cost adjustment for your area.
- Review Total Care Cost and Monthly Cost to budget for elder care expenses.
- Use the estimate to compare care options and plan funding strategies including long-term care insurance.
What each input means
- Care Setting
- Select care setting.
- In-home hours/week
- Hours of in-home care per week (only applies to care setting 1). Standard is 44 hrs/week.
- Duration
- Expected duration of care in months. Average nursing home stay is ~2.5 years.
- Geographic cost adjustment
- Regional cost adjustment vs national median. E.g., +30% for NYC, -20% for rural South.
- Annual care cost inflation
- Annual rate of care cost increase. Historical average is ~3-5%.
- Medicaid Eligible
- Medicaid benefit eligibility.
- VA Benefits
- VA benefit eligibility.
- LTC Insurance
- Long-term care insurance coverage.
- LTC daily benefit
- Daily benefit amount from LTC insurance policy. Only applies if LTC insurance = 1.
What each result means
- Monthly cost (adjusted)
- Monthly care cost after geographic adjustment, before benefit offsets.
- First year annual cost
- Total cost for the first year of care.
- Total cost over duration
- Cumulative care cost over the full duration, accounting for inflation.
- Final month cost
- Monthly cost in the last month of care (reflects inflation).
- Net monthly out-of-pocket
- Monthly cost after Medicaid, VA, and LTC insurance offsets.
- Total out-of-pocket
- Total out-of-pocket cost over the full duration after all benefit offsets.
- Savings needed
- Total savings needed to self-fund the out-of-pocket portion of care.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters9 parametersCare Setting = 3, In-home hours/week = 44, Duration = 24, Geographic cost adjustment = 0 = 9 input(s) provided
- Calculate Monthly costMonthly cost = baseMonthlyCost * (1 + costAdjustmentPct / 100)5350 = $5,350
- Calculate First year annual costFirst year annual cost64200 = $64,200
- Calculate Total cost over durationTotal cost over duration133352 = $133,352
Figures and sources
- Genworth Cost of Care Survey (national median long-term care costs) (2023) — Genworth Financial, Inc. Genworth Cost of Care Survey 2023: Twenty Years of Tracking Long-Term Care Costs.
Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does hours per week affect the cost estimate only for in-home care?
In-home care is the one setting in this calculator priced per hour rather than as a flat monthly rate -- the $5,720 national median assumes 44 hours a week, and the calculator scales that figure proportionally if you enter more or fewer hours. Adult day care, assisted living, and both nursing home tiers are modeled as flat monthly rates regardless of how many hours of care are actually delivered day to day, which is why changing the hours-per-week input has zero effect unless in-home care is selected.
Is there one input that matters more than the others in this calculator?
Not really -- unlike calculators built around a single dominant multiplier, this one splits its effect across several roughly equal levers: care setting sets the entire baseline rate, geographic cost adjustment then rescales that baseline, and duration plus inflation rate determine how the cumulative total grows from there. Because none of those clearly outweighs the others, the most useful way to use this calculator is to test a few realistic combinations rather than assume any single input is the one to get exactly right.
How much does VA Aid & Attendance offset the monthly cost?
The calculator applies up to roughly $2,431 a month in VA Aid & Attendance offset for an eligible veteran, capped so the offset never exceeds the actual monthly care cost -- meaning it fully covers a lower-cost setting like adult day care but only partially offsets a higher-cost nursing home stay. That figure approximates the maximum benefit rate for a veteran with a spouse; actual VA benefit amounts vary by the veteran's specific circumstances, so treat this as a ceiling estimate rather than a guaranteed amount.
Does the Medicaid offset apply the same percentage to every care setting?
No -- this calculator applies a different Medicaid offset percentage depending on care setting: roughly 85% of cost for nursing home care (semi-private or private), 40% for assisted living, and 50% for in-home care, reflecting that Medicaid's long-term care coverage is structured very differently across settings in most states, with nursing home coverage historically the most comprehensive and assisted living coverage the most limited or state-dependent.
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