How Much Does Senior Day Care Cost

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Adult daycare is essentially a place that seniors can feel safe during the daytime while their primary caregivers go to work or take a small respite from their caregiving duties to avoid burnout. 

Senior daycare, also known as adult day services, offers older adults customized therapeutic, social, and health services for part of the day.

The advantages offered by an adult daycare service are two-fold.

Two senior woman with caregiver

One, these centers provide an older adult with a coordinated program of professional and compassionate services in a community-based group setting.

Two, the families of the older adult can get a respite from the demanding duties and running around that comes with caregiving.

Cost of Adult Day Care Centers

While adult daycare is usually charged on a daily or hourly basis, mostly, adult daycare costs vary depending on the location of the establishment and the services that you choose for your elderly adult.

Now, if you’d like to know about the costs a bit more specifically, the Administration for Community Living quotes that the average cost per day is around $25 to over $100, depending on the services offered.

Generally, an adult day care center provides seniors with skilled supervision in an organized arrangement. The establishment offers seniors the chance to get into social and recreational activities too apart from offering them nutritious meals and basic health care services.

Average Costs of Adult Day Care Nationwide

Let’s take into account the fact that costs are mostly calculated on an hourly basis.

Now, imagine that the time a senior spends in an adult day care program setting can range from 4 to 12 hours per day and up to 5 days per week. The costs will also differ accordingly.

Average cost of a senior day care

Even so, placing your elderly adult in a senior daycare center is still approximately 50% less than the national average for in-home care or other options such as assisted living community and nursing home care.

If you are looking at the nationwide costs, the average daily cost for adult daycare is $70, while the monthly average is about $2,100. If you convert this into yearly amounts, the expectation is that you spend an average of $25,200 annually.

While some providers of adult day care charge on an hourly basis, there are adult daycare centers that bill by half or full days for your convenience.

These are estimates and do not reflect the actual costs if you in a position to make use of government subsidies, any other financial assistance, or health insurance.

Average Costs of Adult Day Care By State

If you have read about assisted living community, nursing home care, and home caregivers, you know that the costs associated with these vary widely by state benchmarks.

 

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Types of Adult Daycare Centers

Adult day plans aim to detain or stop institutionalization by giving alternative care, increasing self-esteem, and motivating socialization.

There are three variation of adult day centers:

Adult Social Day Services

These institutions provide food and drink, recreational activities like arts and crafts, and also have some health care services.

These often include more chances for social interaction like discussion groups and day trips and is apt for the active adult who is pretty independent, outgoing, and does not have significant medical issues.

Group of Seniors having dinner together

Adult Day Health Care

These types of daycare services for adults offer intensive health, social, and therapeutic services.

Adult Day Health Care targets senior consumers with significant medical issues and those who are at a higher risk of requiring nursing home care or the services of an assisted living facility.

These day health care services will usually have a registered nurse or another professional on-site. They also include physical, occupational, and speech therapists. You may be required to produce a medical report to sign up beforehand.

Specialized Day Cares

Now, you know that an older adult with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease may not be very accepting of strangers as their social interaction is also painfully limited.

These are specialized daycare may be helpful in this instance, as they cater to certain patient populations, including those with developmental disabilities and dementia.

The services and programs in specialized daycare include:

  • Social programming: This involves interaction with other seniors in planned activities appropriate for people with cognitive impairment and other conditions.
  • Transportation: Service includes picking up and dropping off your elderly adults at the required times. See our article on how to start transportation services for the elderly.
  • Meals and snacks: This includes meal services for clients, and also takes into account the older adult with special dietary needs.
  • Personal care: The staff will help your elderly family member with grooming, eating, going to the bathroom, and other daily living activities with which he/she needs assistance.
  • Therapeutic activities: Involves exercise and mental stimulation for all, particularly for those with conditions like dementia.

Nurse helping a dementia patient

Senior care day centers normally operate during casual business hours five days a week, though some programs provide evening and weekend hours.

 

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Role of Senior Daycare in Recent Times

In recent years, adult day services centers have played an increasing role in providing long-term care services. In fact, adult daycare is fast becoming a preferred platform for managing chronic disease.

These respite care centers now offer more and more disease-specific programs that can accommodate people with chronic conditions.

These centers are now also offering transitional care and short-term rehabilitation after an older adult is discharged from the hospital.

Benefits of Adult Daycare

  1. The first advantage is obviously the cost associated with care services. Adult daycare allows a senior to be placed in good care at a fraction of the expense of more advanced care like assisted living facilities or nursing homes.
  2. They offer stimulating social programming and services. The kind of interaction and activities that are offered ensure an exciting time than if these elders spent weekdays alone at home.
  3. The elderly’s family continues to have primary care and control over their loved ones and the elderly people do not feel that they are leaving their own home to live with strangers.
  4. They offer a range of senior-oriented services that allow the clients to engage in social and therapeutic activities during the day and compare notes with their loved ones at the end of the day.
  5. Overall, adult day care centers offer a better quality of life for both the senior member as well as their families.
  6. Adult daycare institutions offer respite for caregivers and family who are overworked and need a break.
  7. They can be a reliable source of support, provide balance and much-needed support in times of crisis, and enhance the overall quality of life for the entire family.
  8. Most centers provide programs for family members, caregiver support groups, individual counseling, and educational programs.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions about Adult daycare Service Costs

Does Medicaid Cover Adult Day Care Costs?

Medicaid funding is largely dependent on state laws. Medicaid does provide comprehensive coverage for adult daycare as well as adult day health care. This is specifically helpful for individuals who would normally strequire nursing care on a full-time/regular basis.

Medicaid funding for senior day care

We want to let you know that the coverage varies from region to region in the US. But, for those who qualify for Medicaid, it is a great option to ensure that coverage for these services is available.

Are the Adult Day Care charges Tax Deductible?

Please note that while the care credit is typically associated with children, it can be used to deduct adult daycare expenses. Also, you also have the option to consider a Medicaid waiver for your loved ones receiving adult daycare. 

Note: As taxpayers, you can only claim one deduction or the other, so we suggest you consult with a financial advisor such as a tax professional who can run the numbers and advise you on which would be the most beneficial claim to go for.

 

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What are Private Payment Options for Adult Day Care

When it comes to private adult care establishments, we know of many individuals who ultimately ended up using retirement funds, savings, or other forms of payment to pay off adult daycare.

The popular option includes long term insurance, but you need to check whether you qualify for this type of care coverage, depending on your policy.

 Some long-term strategies only permit for coverage for healthcare-related credits within assisted living houses or nursing facilities while other strategies are more liberal. Other private payment choices can include:

  • Reverse home mortgages
  • Loans
  • Cashing out on the value of life insurance policies

We understand that paying for long-term care out-of-pocket is a challenge for many families. If this is the case with you, you can make an inquiry about lessen fees or scholarship programs.

If you are a veteran but is not able to receive direct aid through the Veteran’s Association, you could check whether you are eligible for any local, central, or regional benefits. You could also check to see whether scholarship dollars will work towards reducing the costs of adult daycare fees.

We hope that the information provided in this article has been helpful to you.

Team Helpandwellness would love to hear from our readers about their suggestions and advice! Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.