Growth in Long Term Care Costs Outpacing Inflation in Most of California, According...

Growth in Long Term Care Costs Outpacing Inflation in Most of California,
According to Annual Genworth Financial Study

Study Gives Californians Access to Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Care
and Adult Day Health Care Costs in Nearly Every Zip Code Statewide

RICHMOND, Va., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The cost of long term care in most of
California is rising at a rate outpacing inflation, putting significant
financial pressure on those in or near retirement, according to an annual
study by Genworth Financial. At the same time, the current economic downturn
has led to a decline in home values and investment returns for many residents
of California, creating further financial planning challenges for many in the
state.

Nationwide, the annual cost for a private nursing home room is $74,208, or
$203 per day, representing an increase of 4 percent annually since 2005. This
represents a rate of growth nearly twice that of the median annual inflation
rate of 2.3 percent over the same period of time -- measured using the Core
CPI (which excludes food and fuel) reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. In the Golden State, this cost has risen 3 percent in the Los
Angeles-Riverside-Santa Ana region, 4 percent in both the Sacramento and San
Francisco-Oakland-San Jose regions, and 2 percent in San Diego.

Since 2004, Genworth has surveyed the cost of long term care across the U.S.
to provide Americans with a clear understanding of the cost of care in their
part of the country. With this knowledge, individuals and families can begin
to prudently plan for these potential costs. The most comprehensive study of
its kind, Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout(R),
covers more than 14,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home
health and adult day health care providers in 331 regions across America,
including 17 regions in California.

"Many California residents who had planned to tap their hard-earned nest egg
to cover future long term care costs are finding this may no longer be a
viable option given the economic downturn," said Buck Stinson, president,
insurance products at Genworth Financial. "Two-thirds of people over age 65
will need long term care in their lifetimes. The localized information
provided by Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey is invaluable to families and
their trusted advisors in mapping out a financial security strategy to cover
the growing cost of this vital care."

A Snapshot of California Long Term Care Costs

Nursing Homes: The median annual cost for a private nursing home room in
California ranges from $70,993 in Yuba City to $147,825 in Santa Barbara. The
annual cost in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Santa Ana region is $74,835, while
the cost in Sacramento is $83,622. The cost in San Diego is $86,688 and the
cost in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area is $102,018.

Assisted Living: Assisted living costs range statewide from a median annual
cost of $23,400 in Merced to $48,000 in San Luis Obispo. Costs are rising the
fastest in Los Angeles-Riverside-Santa Ana at 9 percent annually since 2005 to
$36,000. In Sacramento, costs have increased 5 percent annually over the same
time period to $32,400. In San Diego, costs are rising at an annual rate of 8
percent since 2005 to $36,000, while costs have increased at an annual rate of
5 percent over this period in San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose to $39,960.
Nationally, the annual cost for a private room in an assisted living facility
is $33,903 and costs have increased 5 percent annually over the past five
years.

Home Care: The median hourly rate for a non-Medicare certified, state
licensed home health aide ranges from $18 to $25 across California. Costs
have risen 3 percent annually over the past five years in the Los
Angeles-Riverside-Santa Ana area to $20 per hour, 4 percent annually in
Sacramento to $22 per hour, 4 percent a year to $21 per hour in San Diego and
4 percent annually in San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose to $24 per hour. The
cost nationally for this type of care is $18 per hour, with costs increasing 2
percent annually over the past five years.

Adult Day Health Care: For adult day health care services, the median daily
rate statewide ranges from $55 to $79. The daily rate is $76 in both Los
Angeles-Riverside-Santa Ana and Sacramento, $78 in San Diego and $79 in San
Francisco-Oakland-San Jose. The daily rate nationally is $54.

Full results of the Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey, including detailed
information about costs in California, an interactive map of the cost of care
in all 50 states and 331 geographic regions, and other useful tools and
information is available online at http://www.genworth.com/costofcare.

Genworth's 2009 Cost of Care Survey was conducted by CareScout during January,
February and March 2009. CareScout, which was acquired by Genworth Financial
in June 2008, has conducted the Genworth Cost of Care Survey since 2004.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial, Inc. is a leading Fortune 500 global financial security
company. Genworth has more than $100 billion in assets and employs
approximately 6,000 people with a presence in more than 25 countries. Its
products and services help meet the investment, protection, retirement and
lifestyle needs of more than 15 million customers. Genworth operates through
three segments: Retirement and Protection, U.S. Mortgage Insurance and
International. Its products and services are offered through financial
intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors and sales specialists.
Genworth Financial, which traces its roots back to 1871, became a public
company in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. For more
information, visit Genworth.com. From time to time Genworth releases
important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly,
investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive
automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new
postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors" section of
Genworth.com.

Long term care insurance is underwritten by Genworth Life Insurance Company,
and in New York, Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York, Administrative
Offices: Richmond, Virginia. Coverage may not be available in all states.

About CareScout
Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, CareScout helps Americans across the
United States find quality care providers for their long term care needs. As
an objective source for this provider information, CareScout, now part of the
Genworth Financial family of companies, developed the nation's first
quality-of-care ratings system for certified nursing homes and home care
providers. Large employers, risk underwriters and families rely on CareScout's
proprietary ratings system, the CareScout network and database of more than
90,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home care agencies to
help find and arrange the most appropriate care for loved ones. For more
information, visit www.carescout.com.

SOURCE Genworth Financial

Yokima Cureton, +1-804-662-2598, yokima.cureton@genworth.com