"It was financially devastating to realize traditional health insurance doesn't cover any form of this care, extended car,e and we had to take on that care ourselves," says Waterlily co-founder and CEO, Lily Vittayarukskul.
Vittayarukskul created the AI planning platform that projects your future long-term care needs after she was faced with navigating how to care for her aunt, who was diagnosed with terminal-stage colon cancer.
"That experience made me incredibly empathetic to what families actually go through," she said.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Administration on Aging, the average 65-year-old has an almost 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care at some point, and 20% will need such care for more than five years.
"There are really two pieces to planning for long-term care, which is the care that you want and the costs associated, and how you want to solve for that cost," Vittayarukskul said.
According to a Cost of Care survey conducted by CareScout and its parent company, Genworth, the national cost for a Home Health Aide in 2024 was around $34 per hour.
That same survey found the annual national median cost for a private room in a nursing home is close to $128,000.
That number drops to $70,800 for assisted living facility care services.
Those costs vary depending on the type of insurance coverage, if any.
"With a simple three-minute intake survey, we're able to plan decades in advance what any individual's long-term care needs are going to look like," Vittayarukskul said.
Waterlily factors in several variables, including sociodemographic factors, financials and family history.
You can find resources for ways to cover long-term care costs at the National Institute on Aging website.
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