A costly diagnosis

( $191-$219/day )

PleaseHelpSupport Alzheimer's Research Today!
Your Alzheimer's donation will help billionslive without it. Donate online now

Alzheimer's disease takes a devastating emotional toll on families but it also is one of the most expensive conditions to treat because of its progressive nature, requiring increasing assistance with eating, bathing and other basic activities over up to 20 years.

However, financial planning at the disease's early stages can stretch available dollars and ensure that those afflicted with Alzheimer's receive the best care they and their families can afford. Every Friday afternoon Ward Campbell takes his wife Peggy to happy hour. Often a local musician plays and the two sample appetizers. He has a beer or two and she sips a cola.

The location, however, is not a restaurant but Morningside of Charlottesville, Va., an assisted-living community operated by Newton, Mass.-based FiveStar Senior Living. Peggy is one of 20 residents in Morningside's memory care unit and most of the time she doesn't recognize Ward as her husband.

"There's a lot of guilt," Ward said. "Am I visiting her enough? Have I cared for her enough? Is she in the best place? Should I do more?"

Married for 46 years, Ward and Peggy Campbell, both age 72, had very different plans for their savings than $4,600 per month for her care and board at Morningside.

"I'm skimping and saving," Ward said. "I'd hoped to pay $4,600 on something else. It would buy a lot of trips, a lot of Porsches and a lot of fun."

Currently 5.3 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease and someone new develops it every 70 seconds. Since the main risk factor is age, that number could accelerate to nearly a million new cases annually by 2050, when the youngest of the baby boomers turns 84. November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.

In 2008, average yearly expenditures on health care and other long-term-care services for someone with Alzheimer's totaled $33,007, more than triple the amount for other seniors 65 and older, according to 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, an annual report by the Alzheimer's Association. Of these costs, Medicare covered a little less than half ($15,145) and Medicaid about one fifth ($6,605).

One reason why people with dementia face higher costs is that most also have one or more additional serious medical conditions such as diabetes or coronary heart disease, said Dr. Jae Pak, a geriatric psychiatrist at Healthcare for Seniors Center in Atlanta.

"Alzheimer's exacerbates other illnesses and vice versa," he added. "People may not take their medications correctly. Diabetics may forget to eat unless somebody is there to make sure that they eat."

Alzheimer's also is the sixth leading cause of death for Americans. In its final stages, complications include immobility, swallowing disorders and malnutrition -- all of which significantly raise the risk of developing pneumonia.

Lots of assistance

Still the most challenging financial hit for patients and their families comes not from direct health-care costs but the increased need for assistance with just about every task of daily activity from getting dressed to using the bathroom as the disease progresses to its middle and late stages.

Because that care is not typically covered by government or private health plans, 8.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $94 billion was provided by almost 10 million family members and friends last year. Many cut work hours or even quit their job to help loved ones.

But as the person with Alzheimer's becomes increasingly confused and requires 24-hour care, most families eventually require outside help. In 2008, the average home care rate for personal care and homemaker services was $144 for an eight-hour day. Adult day care cost an average of $64/day.

Specialized Alzheimer's care in assisted-living cost an average of $4,267 a month or $51,204 a year, while average nursing home rates run from $191-$219/day or from about $70,000-$80,000/year depending on whether one opts for a semiprivate or private room or is in an Alzheimer's special care unit. ...http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Diet rich in polypenols might delay onset of Alzheimer’s

A diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease through the production of new brain cells and the strenghtening of neural networks, according to a new Spanish study. ...http://www.nutraingredients.com

Беларусь ТВ

Posted YVN