Dementia patient care costs exceed those for other diseases, like cardiovascular problems and cancer, especially in the final stages, a new study has shown.
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Data included in the analysis was part of the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS).
Race plays a dramatic role in how much is paid out-of-pocket as a proportion of wealth, the study found. For black dementia patients, the median spending amounted to 83.6 percent of their wealth, compared to 31.8 percent among non-black dementia patients.
The researchers estimate out-of-pocket costs for dementia patients was, on average, $61,522, due to the increased level of care and supervision needed by those with dementia. Patients were divided into four groups: those with a high probability of dementia; those with either cancer or heart disease; or those with another cause of death.
Even so, the study findings highlight a financial burden posed by end-of-life care for elderly dementia patients that care reverberate through multiple generations, noted Carol Levine, director of the Families and Health Care Project at the United Hospital Fund, an independent policy group in New York City. Medicare does not cover health-related expenses such as homecare services, equipment, and non-rehabilitative nursing care, the study said.
“With a serious illness like cancer, care may be expensive, but it may be more concentrated on the a year ago or two of life”, she said, adding that cancer care is also more likely to be provided by health care professionals and covered by insurance, while ongoing dementia care is often paid for or provided, unpaid, by family members.
The financial strain associated with dementia surpasses by a wide margin even the amount of spending required for treating other conditions, which has been assessed at around $197,286. That proportion was found to be greater for certain demographic groups – it represented 84 percent of five years’ wealth for black patients, 48 percent for people without a high school education, and 58 percent for unmarried or widowed women.
In addition, the research doesn’t include the income loss experienced by family members while caring for dementia patients, and may not accurately quantify the percentage of insurance payments.
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Study lead author Dr. Amy S. Kelley, a geriatrician at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York, said, “For many families, the cost of caring for a dementia patient often consumed nearly their entire household wealth”.
