$10,000 a Month for Parents’ Long-Term Care—Who Is Prepared to Shoulder This Cost?

There are many reasons why people don’t put their parents in a nursing home as their care needs mount. They may want to help their parents maintain their independence, for example, or protect them from potential elder abuse at certain facilities. But, increasingly, cost is becoming a part of the equation.

According to the American Council on Aging, the average annual cost of a nursing home in the United States varies widely by state but, on average, hovered around $10,000 per month in most markets in 2024. In some high-cost markets, it runs more than triple that figure.

The Sticker Shock of Long-Term Care

The American Council on Aging’s statistics showed that the average annual cost of a nursing home stay in 2024 was between $111,325 ($9,150 monthly*) for a shared room and $127,750 ($10,500 monthly*) for a private room.

The state with the highest statewide average nursing home cost, Alaska, has rates as high as $364,453 annually, or $998.50 per day. This is regardless of whether or not the room is private. That’s $29,955 per month.*

Meanwhile, in Texas, the state with the lowest nationwide average costs, you can expect to pay on average $85,045 annually for a private room ($6,990 monthly*) and $65,700 for a shared room ($5,400 monthly*). That price is not cheap by any means, but it’s certainly less than what you can expect to pay in other states. Furthermore, these costs often must be paid for out-of-pocket.

^{*Monthly amounts calculated using respective daily rates and a 30-day month.}

Why Your Parents’ Insurance Won’t Pay

You may believe that Medicare, the U.S. federal health insurance program for people aged 65 and older, will pay for your parents’ nursing home care. But that’s not the case. 

Medicare will pay 100% of the bill for just the first 20 days that someone is in a nursing home for a medically necessary reason, after a qualifying hospital stay. After that, it pays a portion of the costs until day 100, with patients taking on a $209.50 per day copay (as of 2025 figures). After day 100, the patient has to cover all of the costs themself.

“Medicare is designed for short-term rehabilitation services, not long-term care,” said Jeremy Gurewitz, co-founder and patient advocate at Solace Health, a patient-advocate health organization. 

The Family Financial Reckoning: When Adult Children Become the Safety Net

“The rising cost of nursing homes leaves adult children suddenly facing a gap they never budgeted for, scrambling to coordinate resources while balancing their own mortgages, children’s education, and retirement planning,” Gurewitz said.

Even if you choose not to put your parents into an uber-expensive nursing home, you may still face untenable costs and steep financial setbacks. 

According to AARP, one in five U.S. adults, about 53 million individuals, is a caregiver to an aging family member. For them, the average annual out-of-pocket expense for their caregiving activities is $7,200. That doesn’t include the value of all of their unpaid hours of work.

“The expense of long-term care is quietly turning into a financial crisis for countless families,” Gurewitz said.

Smart Money Moves to Make Before the Crisis Hits

So, what are your options for your aging parents? Gurewitz encourages his clients to look into things like long-term care insurance or health savings accounts.

Additionally, children can look into getting their parents on Medicaid. According to KFF, a healthcare research nonprofit, Medicaid paid the full costs of nursing home care for over 60% of the 1.2 million Americans living in these facilities in July 2024.

Medicaid has asset and income limits and a five-year look-back period. So those wishing to use it for long-term care must plan well in advance. An applicant must disclose all financial transactions that they or their spouse have made over the past five years—including gifts, property transfers, and the sale of assets.

For a parent to qualify for Medicaid, you may need to take ownership of most of their assets years ahead of time so that your parent can meet Medicaid’s asset limit. This means that for the five years after those transfers are made, your parent isn’t eligible for Medicaid.

Perhaps the most important step a family can take, however, is to talk about these costs as soon as possible after recognizing the coming need for care services.

“Early preparedness can help avoid financial and emotional stress down the line,” Gurewitz said. “Discuss expectations and care preferences long before your parents’ health declines. Whether it’s home health aides, assisted living, nursing care, or some other option, having a plan protects both the older generation and the adult children from financial shocks that can suddenly turn a paid-off house into a source of delinquent property taxes and maintenance costs.”

The Bottom Line

Average nursing home costs in the U.S. are high compared to many other developed countries and they’re a burden on American families. Despite this, there are multiple steps that parents and their adult children can take to make sure they’re not hit with an overwhelming financial crisis. These include looking into long-term care insurance, setting up trusts, transferring assets ahead of time in order to qualify for Medicaid, and opening health savings accounts.