Long term care costs continued their steady climb upward in 2012, with adult day care and assisted living costs leading the pack, Genworth Financial says in its annual survey.

Genworth, one of the nation’s largest long term care insurers, says that adult day care costs rose by more than 6.5 percent last year; the national median daily rate for day care is $65.

Assisted living costs rose more than 4.5 percent in 2012, and the national median monthly rate for assisted living services is now $3,450, Genworth says.

All sectors of the long term care profession showed growth last year, but licensed homemakers showed the lowest increase, of 1.39 percent, Genworth says. The national median hourly rate of a licensed homemaker is $18, Genworth says.

Costs in the industry have risen steadily in the past five years, Genworth says. Nursing home care costs have risen by more than 4 percent since 2008, Genworth says.

A look at its findings:
Service                              National Median Rate    Pct. Increase in 2012    Five-Year Growth Rate
Licensed Homemaker        $18 (hourly)                     1.39%                               0.84%
Home Health Aide              $19 (hourly)                     2.32%                               1%
Adult Day Care                   $65 (daily)                       6.56%                               1.61%
Assisted Living                   $3,450 (monthly)             4.55%                                4.26%
Nursing Home                    $207 (daily)                     3.3%                                  4.22%
(semi-private room)
Nursing Home                    $230 (daily)                     3.6%                                  4.45%
(private room)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the biggest factors in long term care costs is dementia, Genworth says. The company cites previous work by the Alzheimer’s Association that found that the unpaid costs of family care totaled nearly $217 billion in 2012 alone.

The company itself says that dementia claims soak up 46 percent of Genworth payments.