New Report Finds An Estimated 1 out of 7 People With Alzheimer’s Live Alone

 

·        Caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the United States an estimated $200 billion in 2012, including $140 billion paid by Medicare and Medicaid.

 

·        Medicare payments for an older person with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are nearly three times higher than for seniors without Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

 

·        Medicaid payments are 19 times higher for an older person with Alzheimer’s or other dementias than for seniors without Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

 

 

·        Unless a concerted effort to change the trajectory of the disease is made today, costs for Alzheimer’s and other dementias will soar from $200 billion this year to as much as $1.1 trillion dollars in 2050 — just 38 years. This dramatic rise includes a 500 percent increase in combined Medicare and Medicaid spending and 400 percent increase in out-of-pocket spending for families.

“It is imperative that we make the Alzheimer’s crisis a national priority, as we see the growing number of aging baby boomers and our nation facing unprecedented economic challenges,” said Susan Kudla Finn, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area Chapter. “Alzheimer’s is the nation’s sixth leading cause of death. It is unmatched in the scale of its devastating human and economic impact. There is no other chronic disease that affects so many without a way to cure, prevent or even slow its progression. The impact of Alzheimer’s on Maryland cannot be underestimated. As many as 86,000 people in the state now live with the disease, and we project that number will increase to 100,000 by 2025. It cannot be more evident that we must make every effort now to address the rapidly increasing Alzheimer’s epidemic.”

 

 

·        According to the Alzheimer’s Association report, there are 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, including 5.2 million people age 65 or older and 200,000 people under the age of 65.

·        Every 68 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s.

·        Nearly 30 percent of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are on Medicare and Medicaid compared to 11 percent of individuals without dementia. 

 

·        Individuals who have Alzheimer’s and other dementias are high consumers of hospital, nursing home and other health and long-term care services, which translate into high costs for Medicare and Medicaid – and for millions of families.

·        Only 4 percent of the general population will be admitted to a nursing home by age 80. For people with Alzheimer’s,