NEW REPORT SAYS ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA TRIPLE HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR AMERICANS OVER AGE 65

Total healthcare costs are more than three times higher for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than for other people age 65 and over, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, released today.

In the new report, total healthcare costs are calculated as per person payments from all sources. Medicare payments alone are almost three times higher for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia than for others over age 65; Medicaid payments alone are more than nine times higher.

“With an aging baby boomer population and the country facing unprecedented economic challenges, it is more important than ever the Alzheimer crisis be dealt with,” said Lori Walker, the executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Western Carolina Chapter. “Alzheimer’s impact on North Carolina is not to be underestimated, with as many as 170,000 living with the disease – it is clear every effort must be made to address this disease now.”

Average Per Person Payments by Source for Health and Long-term Care Services. For Persons, Aged 65 Years and Older, With and Without Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 2004

* Payments by source do not exactly equal total payments due to the effect of population weighting.

Source: Alzheimer’s Association 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures

According to the report, there are 5.3 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease. Every 70 seconds someone in America develops the disease and by mid-century someone will develop Alzheimer’s every 33 seconds.

People with Alzheimer’s are high consumers of hospital, nursing home and other health and

long-term care services, which translates into high costs for Medicare, Medicaid and millions of families. As families struggle to survive in a deepening recession and states grapple with budget shortfalls, Alzheimer’s disease threatens to overwhelm them both.

With family members providing care at home for about 70 percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the ripple effects of Alzheimer’s disease can be felt throughout the entire family unit. According to Facts and Figures, in 2008, nearly 10 million Alzheimer caregivers in the U.S. provided 8.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $94 billion. In North Carolina alone, there were 317,742 caregivers, providing 274,274,804 hours of unpaid care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or another dementia valued at $3,044,450,328 dollars.

Implications for States

Alzheimer’s is now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, surpassing diabetes. The latest available data show that there were 29.5 deaths per 100,000 from Alzheimer’s in North Carolina. As deaths from other chronic conditions like heart disease and stroke continue to fall, more North Carolina residents will live long enough to develop Alzheimer’s disease with profound effects on families and state budgets. To plan for this rapidly growing problem, states need accurate and reliable information about the characteristics and needs of their residents who are coping with Alzheimer’s and other dementia. An existing survey process is the most efficient way to obtain this information. The Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an annual state public health survey done in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since 2003, some states have added questions about caregiving for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in their BRFSS surveys. The new Facts and Figures report highlights the BRFSS survey findings from the states of Washington and North Carolina. The BRFSS survey allows residents to say for themselves what their challenges are.

Beginning this year, an approved set of family caregiving questions is available for all states to add to their BRFSS survey, and another set of questions on cognitive impairment is being developed for 2010. States that include these questions in the BRFSS surveys will have the information they need to develop and deliver essential services to the growing number of families coping with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

The full text of the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures can be viewed at http://www.alz.org/.