. March 21, 2007 SouthAmerica: As the article said: âFor one thing, they don't include the 10 million Americans currently caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease or similar dementias. Over 40% of these caregivers are stressed to the breaking point -- financially, emotionally, and physically.â The government figures donât reflect what is really going on in American society regarding Alzheimerâs disease. *************** âAlzheimer's Hits 5.1 Million Americansâ - Cases Predicted to More Than Triple -- to 16 Million -- by 2050 By Daniel J. DeNoon WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD March 20, 2007 â Alzheimer's disease is rising rapidly in America, now affecting at least 5.1 million and expected to hit 7.7 million by 2030; perhaps tripling to 16 million by 2050. Those figures, released today by the Alzheimer's Association, don't tell the whole story. For one thing, they don't include the 10 million Americans currently caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease or similar dementias. Over 40% of these caregivers are stressed to the breaking point -- financially, emotionally, and physically. The new numbers also conceal a frightening statistic: An estimated 500,000 Americans under age 65 -- some as young as 30 -- suffer early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Soaring upward even faster than the Alzheimer's case rate is the death rate. Deaths from Alzheimer's rose nearly 33% from 2000 to 2004. And that's an underestimate. The cause of death for Alzheimer's patients is often wrongly attributed to other diseases such patients may have, says Stephen McConnell, PhD, vice president for public policy and advocacy at the Alzheimer's Association. "This is not just a memory disease. It is a disease that kills you," McConnell tells WebMD. "What should really scare us is that you see a decline in cancer and heart-disease deaths but a rapid increase in Alzheimer's disease. And the two are not unrelated. As we live longer, we are more susceptible to Alzheimer's." In 2011, baby boomers will begin turning 65 -- the age at which one in eight people has Alzheimer's. That risk rises rapidly with age. Nearly one in five people who reach 84 will get Alzheimer's disease. Those who live to be 85 or older have a 44% chance of Alzheimer's. The new numbers come from the Alzheimer's Association's "Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2007." Included in this statistical abstract is a special report on the hidden cost of Alzheimer's disease: the toll it takes on caregivers and families. Alzheimer's Caregivers Stressed Physically, Financially McConnell says the new data now make it possible to calculate the cost of caring for Alzheimer's patients. It is a staggering figure. "There are 10 million Alzheimer's caregivers," McConnell says. "Some have the job 24 hours a day, as at some point all Alzheimer's patients need 24-hour care." The value of this care: $83 billion a year, dollars not included in calculations of U.S. health care costs. "Families are bearing a very heavy burden. And this is not covered by health insurance," McConnell says. Alzheimer's falls into the category of long-term care, which is available only to Americans able to purchase expensive long-term care insurance or to those impoverished enough to qualify for Medicaid. If you think you or an elderly family member can afford Alzheimer's care, you may be wrong. Two-thirds of free-living elderly people -- and 84% of those at high risk of needing long-term care -- cannot afford more than a year in a nursing home. Three-fourths of those at high risk cannot afford even a month of nursing-home care. Why? In 2006, a private room in an assisted living facility cost $35,616 a year. A private room in a nursing home cost $75,190 a year. Adult day services range from $25 to $100 a day. And home health aids cost $19 an hour. "Ultimately, we need financial insurance protection so the disease doesn't bankrupt the whole family," McConnell says. "It is unfair to make a family choose between sending their child to college and taking care of their dad." Dollars represent only the financial cost of Alzheimer's care. Two-thirds of these caregivers provide physically demanding care. This includes bathing, feeding, toilet trips, and incontinence care for patients whose confusion often leads them to struggle against the caregiver. More than 70% of caregivers do this for more than a year -- and a third of them do it for five or more years. It's no wonder 40% of Alzheimer's caregivers report high levels of emotional stress. The physical stress of caregiving is summed up in one awful statistic: People who care for dementia patients have an increased risk of death. "Caregivers are doing a very important service to the country, but we need to do a better job of taking care of the caregiver," McConnell says. SOURCES: Alzheimer's Association: "Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2007." Stephen McConnell, PhD, vice president for public policy and advocacy, Alzheimer's Association, Washington, D.C. http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20070320/alzheimers-hits-5-million-americans .
. March 21, 2007 SouthAmerica: Peter Peterson wrote an article published on The Financial Times of March 20, 2007 about his concerns regarding the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid system here in the USA. At this time it is a waste of time to worry about the Social Security System â when the real problems are in the Medicare and Medicaid systems. The Social Security System problems can be managed with a few adjustments here and there, since you know how many people you have on the system, and you also know their ages, and so onâ¦. But the Medicare and Medicaid systems it is another story â there is no way to know how many people will get sick and when â and advancements in science is helping people to live longer lives. How do you fix a system like that with so many unknowns? I have no idea. .
Could have fooled me. My healthcare is great, affordable, the doctors are awesome and I get care very very quickly. I broke my arm mountain biking last year. Went to urgent care, saw a doc in just 10 minutes. Got xrays 10 mins later, no waiting. Saw and orthpedist specialist the very next day. How could it get better for me?
Yessir, wonderful idea from Edwards. Open the floodgates, let the immigrants in, and give em' all the free heathcare, welfare and every other entitlement they can stand. And then give 'em more! 25 million? Let's shoot for 150 million. The rich and all those filthy corporations can pay for it! The fact that people buy into this stuff almost makes me a long-term permabear sometimes....
and ur insurance probably paid $45,000 for this which you just paid your co-pay.....see where there might be a problem??
. March 21, 2007 SouthAmerica: Reply to Traderdragon2 I am not complaining about the healthcare that I receive in my area of the country â since I am surrounded by the best healthcare in the USA - and half hour drive from where I live I have the best hospitals in the United States including Slone Kettering (for cancer), Presbyterian Hospital in NY City, Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and Hakensack Medical Center (both in NJ are among the best hospitals in the country) and University Hospital in Newark, NJ (the number one hospital in the country if you have any problems with your eyes.) The only way that it could get better for me - it is if I never get sick and never have to use the healthcare system. .
What? Go to ehealthinsurance.com and find me any plan thay runs anywhere near $40K/year. If my insurance is shelling out 45K a year for me and collecting less than 4K a year from me, then yeah there is a problem. Im robbing them blind Wooo hoo! I thought all these insurance companies were robbing us and making huge profits?
no...the Doctors and Hospitals and Cuban medicare specialists are robbing the insurance blind which in turn rob us blind... capiche??
Thats the whole problem with the system. Those that don't pay don't pay. Those who do pay insurance get screwed becased the hospital charges much higher rates when you have insuranc e in order to get their money back from those who don't pay. Last time I went to the ER and had 2 cat scans done. They charged my insurance $2600 per cat scan. I just happened to get a hold of of their price sheet for what they charge for non insurance customers. The same 2 cats scans only cost $350 piece without insurance! My total bill was $6800 and my insurance covered $4100 of it leaving me $2700 to pay. Had I went in there and said I did not have insurance, I would have only been charged $1600. Do you see the problem now ?
I always thought that people with insurance get charged lower amounts than people without insurance, although the amounts may be negotiable.