Study: R.I. one of worst states to grow old

DESPITE SCENES LIKE THIS, Caring.com said Rhode Island is the sixth-worst state to grow old. / COURTESY CARING.COM
DESPITE SCENES LIKE THIS, Caring.com said Rhode Island is the sixth-worst state to grow old. / COURTESY CARING.COM

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island is the sixth-worst state to grow old, according to a study by Caring.com.

The website, which features information for caregivers, said the Ocean State’s yearly senior care costs run higher than the national average, which total $43,500 for an assisted living facility and $46,000 for a home health aide. It said home health aide services in Rhode Island cost approximately $57,000 annually, while assisted living costs approximately $64,000 annually.

Rhode Island fared better in the quality of life and health care ranking, placing 29th overall.

The worst state to grow old? West Virginia, which ranked poorly for health care and quality of life. New Jersey was second worst, New York, third, Kentucky, fourth, and Indiana, fifth.

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The best place to grow old? South Dakota.

South Dakota’s costs for an assisted living facility hover around $36,000 yearly, close to the national average, and $52,000 for a home health aide.
The rest of the top five states to grow old, in order, are: Iowa, Minnesota, Alaska and Oregon.

“The main takeaway from this research is that the traditional retirement destinations don’t always offer the best mix of cost and quality,” Dayna Steele, of Caring.com, said in a statement. “This is why it’s so important for people to do their homework while they’re still relatively young and healthy in order to set themselves up for retirement years that are truly golden.”
Florida came in 31st overall, mostly due to below-average health care quality, the website said.

Caring.com said it assembled the ratings by examining data on quality of life for residents over 55, quality of health care, long-term care, support for seniors and family caregivers, senior care costs and more than 105,000 consumer ratings of senior care providers in each state. Sources included the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Genworth’s 2015 Cost of Care Survey and the Long-term Scorecard, a joint effort by AARP, The Commonwealth Fund and The SCAN Foundation.

The Ocean State did better in a Bankrate.com study released March 1 that said it was the 22nd best state to retire, citing health care quality and weather as positives. That was after a WalletHub report in January that said Rhode Island was the worst state to retire due to affordability and quality of life.

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