Payment For Comprehensive Dementia Care: Five Key Recommendations
February 7, 2023
An article by authors including IMPACT members Gary Epstein-Lubow, MD and David Reuben, MD provides insights and recommendations for payment for comprehensive dementia care in Health Affairs Forefront.
Abstract
More than 6.5 million older Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today, a number projected to double by 2050. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 percent to 80 percent of those living with dementia. Related dementias include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and mixed dementia. Alzheimer’s and related dementias (ADRD) are among the most expensive conditions affecting our nation. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that Medicare spent $146 billion on Alzheimer’s disease in 2022—meaning that more than one in every six Medicare dollars will have been spent on someone with ADRD. Medicaid spent another $60.8 billion caring for these individuals.
We, the authors, believe care could be vastly improved, and costs could be reduced, if all community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries living with dementia could enroll in a comprehensive dementia care program that addresses the needs of both the persons living with dementia and their caregivers.