Assisted living homes’ added fees are driving up consumer costs

Thomas Delany Jr. Staff Photographer. Sunrise Assisted Living resident, Dan Dunkleman (left), plays a Valentines Day game of bingo with Woodland Elementary West students, Amy Schgiferl (center), 7, and Brandon Keaskowski (right), 6, both of Gurnee. Students in the first grade classes of teachers Jill Unger and Katie Moulds delivered valentines, sang songs, played games, and handed out treats to residents at Sunrise Assisted Living in Gurnee.

Assisted living centers have become an appealing retirement option for hundreds of thousands of boomers who no longer can live independently, promising a cheerful alternative to the institutional feel of a nursing home.

But their cost is so crushingly high that most Americans can’t afford them.