ACT on Alzheimer’s Disease Curriculum Module III: Societal Impact
Dec 23, 2015
ACT on Alzheimer’sDisease Curriculum
Module III: Societal Impact
Societal Impact
• These slides are based on the Module III: Societal Impact text
• Please refer to the text for all citations, references and acknowledgments
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Module III: Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this module the student should:
• Identify the challenges that families and caregivers experience when caring for someone who has dementia.
• Gain insight into the cost, risks, and stressors that affect families and caregivers.
• Be aware of the anticipated increase and impact Alzheimer’s disease will have in the future.
Societal Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s disease has a serious impact on many facets of society– The burden of Alzheimer’s disease has a profound
impact on patients, families and caregivers– The disease jeopardizes the financial well-being of
patients and families as well as puts strain on public budgets
– Alzheimer’s disease has placed, and will continue to place, an increasing burden on the overall healthcare system
Impact on Families and Caregivers
Impact on Families and Caregivers
• 15 million Americans provide unpaid care to a person with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia
• Unpaid caregivers are primarily family members
• In 2012, these caregivers provided an estimated 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care at an estimated value of $216.4 billion
Impact on Families and Caregivers
• Caring for a person with dementia poses special challenges
• Caregivers experience high levels of stress and negative effects on their own health, employment and financial security
• Caregivers are at a heightened risk for psychological and physical illness
Impact on Families and Caregivers
• Frequent issues experienced by families and caregivers include:– Denial– Anger / Frustration– Guilt– Loss and Grief– Letting Go– Financial Stress– Role Reversals– Social Isolation
Impact on Families and Caregivers
• Caregivers report high levels of stress over the course of providing care– 61% rated the emotional stress of caregiving as
high or very high– 33% report symptoms of depression
Impact on Families and Caregivers
• Caregivers are at risk for becoming “secondary patients”– The physical and emotional impact of dementia
caregiving is estimated to result in $9.1 billion in health care costs in the United States
– 75% of caregivers reported that they were somewhat to very concerned about their own health while serving as a caregiver
Financial and Healthcare Impact
Financial and Healthcare Impact
• As the population grows and ages, there is a growing need for healthcare workers– The United States will need another 3.5 million
health care providers by 2030 to maintain the current ratio of provider coverage
– The number of trained geriatricians is very low and the need is growing in the medical, nursing and social work fields
Financial and Healthcare Impact
• People with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have three times as many hospital stays as do others
• Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s are more likely than those without to have other chronic medical conditions
• As a result, the total health care costs of Alzheimer’s patients is higher than the costs of similar non-Alzheimer’s patients
Financial and Healthcare Impact
• Use of healthcare facilities:– Hospital: 3x stays for Medicare patients with
Alzheimer’s vs. those without Alzheimer’s– Skilled nursing facility: 9x stays for Alzheimer’s
patients– Home health care: 23% with Alzheimer’s had at
least one home health care visit vs. 10% for non-Alzheimer’s beneficiaries
Financial and Healthcare Impact• The costs of health care services are higher for
those with Alzheimer’s disease– Total payments for all health care and long-term care
for Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s were 3 times higher than for those without Alzheimer’s ($44k vs. $14k)
– 29% of Medicare patients with Alzheimer’s also have Medicaid; 10% of Medicare patients without Alzheimer’s also have Medicaid
– Medicaid payments for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s were 9 times higher than for non-Alzheimer’s Medicaid beneficiaries
Financial and Healthcare Impact
• The high cost of long-term care is a challenge for Alzheimer’s patients and their families– 60-70% of older adults with Alzheimer’s disease
live in the community vs. 98% of older adults without Alzheimer’s
– The high cost of long-term care services (assisted living $42k/year and nursing home $81-90k/year) causes patients to spend down their assets which ultimately leads them to become Medicaid beneficiaries
Financial and Healthcare Impact
• Total payments for health care, long-term care and hospice for people with Alzheimer’s are projected to increase. • $203 billion in 2013• $1.2 trillion in 2050
• The increase assumes a six-fold increase in government expenditures under Medicare and Medicaid and a five-fold increase in personal out-of-pocket spending