It seems not all industries are suffering from the recession. Even though Americans are paying less on everything from hotel rooms to holiday gifts, and small businesses are fighting to hang on to their dwindling credit, the recession-inspired rollback theme hasn't quite made it to the long-term health care industry.

According to the MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services, and Home Care Costs, private room nursing home rates rose 3.3% to a whopping $219 a day, or $79,935 per year. Quite a hike.

Assisted living costs also surged ahead by 3.3% to $3,131 per month.

Home health care aides also got a raise. Currently, they're pulling in an average $21 per hour, up 5%.

When I arrived at the hospital, my father lay unconscious in the intensive care unit. A staff member was able to waken him. He opened his eyes and, recognizing me, moved his hand toward mine. Then he quickly lapsed back into an unconscious state.

My father was 88 and had multiple health problems: emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and now, a second bout with pancreatitis, which had sent him again to a hospital. Years of tobacco and alcohol use had caught up with him, yet he had survived a stroke years before and was still living at home, by himself, and had no terminal diseases.

My brothers and I thought our father had a living will, but a call to his lawyer proved otherwise. So while he lay unresponsive, hooked up with an array of tubes, we discussed what he would want in medical care.

In other words, we became a family ''death panel'' of sorts. But not a government bureaucracy rationing health care to the sick and disabled, as envisioned by opponents of health care reform. The proposed legislation would pay doctors if a patient wanted to discuss end-of-life care, including a living will and hospice. It would be a voluntary consultation.

The well known women at wowOwow.com are stopping by WalletPop on a frequent basis to answer your spending and personal finance questions.

This week we asked them: Among women you know on Medicare, has the program worked well/been successful? The legendary gossip columnist Liz Smith and founder of Sesame Street Joan Ganz Cooney share their thoughts about the program.

Liz Smith: Most of the women I am friends with are already on Medicare and they seem to be coping quite well in using this great mechanism. This doesn't say, however, that if we don't want to go bankrupt we better improve the system. I want to give President Obama's ideas a chance to do that.

Money

1. Know the risks of stocks and bonds
2. Crunch the numbers
3. Worry less by downsizing your plans
4. Control what you can including spending

Ken and Daria Dolan, America's first family of personal finance, answer your questions every Friday.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

Americans have lost trillions -- with a "T" -- of dollars in the stock and housing market collapses. The average person with a 401(k) plan has lost five years worth of their savings! No wonder people are nervous about whether they have enough money saved for retirement. Today, Ken and Daria Dolan of Dolans.com have a surprising answer to the question "How much money do I need in retirement." The conventional wisdom is dead wrong, they say -- listen to it and your retirement dream could become a nightmare.

Dear Ken and Daria,

How can i figure out if I have enough money to retire?

--Mary

Use our retirement planning worksheet to figure out how much you need for retirement. It's not too late to rebuild your retirement savings!