New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, has always been a place of intrigue for me. I’ve delighted in the paintings of Georgia O’Keefe. I’ve wanted to investigate, under cover of night, the goings-on at Roswell. It’s a land of incredible beauty, and birthplace of many notables—Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos is from New Mexico, as is Neil Patrick Harris, Demi Moore, Conrad Hilton, and a host of others. Breaking Bad made New Mexico impossibly cool. I mean, it was home to Saul Goodman, after all.
According to New Mexico’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department, by the year 2030, New Mexico’s 65+ population will move from 29th to fourth largest in the nation, and 5th in the projected growth rate of the 85+ population. And although the majority of seniors prefer to age at home, New Mexico spends 39 percent of the state’s Medicaid funds on nursing home care.
How much do nursing homes in New Mexico cost? According to Caregiverlist’s updated national nursing home cost database, the daily room rate of a nursing home in New Mexico is $200.00 (the state average of single and shared rooms) or $73,000 per year, making it the 30th costliest state in the nation. The average star rating for New Mexico nursing homes is 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Senior care planning and paying for that care is the conversation no one wants to have. However, families need to understand the costs of nursing homes in their area, along with their overall ratings. Families usually doesn’t learn of those costs until long-term care is needed. Most hospitals release seniors to nursing homes for postoperative care. Medicare will cover the first 100 day—after which most seniors must private pay for care. Caregiverlist updates our nursing home cost database so seniors and their families can get an idea of long-term care costs in their area.
Below is a snapshot of New Mexico nursing home costs and ratings:
Total Number of Nursing Homes: 82
Average Single Price: $211
Average Double Price: $189
Average Rating: 2.5
Star Rating Snapshot:
5-Star: 1
4-Star: 24
3-Star: 28
2-Star: 18
1-Star: 11
You can also see an at-a-glance snapshot of our latest findings with our New Mexico nursing home cost infographic below.
Which is New Mexico’s highest rated nursing home? The only New Mexico facility with the highest Caregiverlist rating is not a nursing home but a Continuing Care Retirement Community. Landsun Homes in Carlsbad, New Mexico receives an overall 4.2 star rating, with perfect marks in its overall Medicare star rating and its certified nursing aide hours per resident per day.
On the other hand, some nursing homes in New Mexico have been in the news recently as the Office of the Attorney General Hector Balderas filed suit against Preferred Healthcare and Cathedral Rock after receiving complaints about the care given to senior residents in their New Mexico nursing home properties.
For that and a host of other reasons, many seniors prefer to stay at home and hire an in-home professional senior caregiver. The median hourly rate for a home health aide or CNA in New Mexico is $20 per hour, but can increase or decrease depending on the exact location (Santa Fe is the most expensive) and level of care required. A quality home care agency provides all necessary liability and worker’s compensation insurance protections and payroll taxes as required by law, as well as running a thorough background check on their caregivers.
When should families begin anticipating for future long-term care costs? Consult with a professional who can come up with a financial action plan, something that includes an assessment of your family’s assets and anticipated spending needs. Seniors and their family caregivers can also research nursing home costs and ratings in any state nationwide through the Caregiverlist Nursing Home Directory, the only resource with this trademarked information.
