At the end of June, the Alliance for Aging Research (the “Alliance”) announced the results of a Medicare claims study which found that families and state Medicaid programs, not Medicare, are burdened with the majority of costs associated with Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s) The study, conducted by the Alliance and Milliman, was published in the July issue of Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy. The results demonstrate the importance of better diagnosis, treatment, and care of individuals with Alzheimer’s, which could lead to more favorable patient outcomes and improved costs for state Medicaid programs and caregivers.

The study, titled “The Real-World Medicare Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease: Considerations for Policy and Care,” examined almost 340,000 Medicare beneficiaries using nine years of Medicare claims data and compared end of life costs in the years prior to the death of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia to individuals without dementia. The study found that even though many Medicare beneficiaries are impacted by Alzheimer’s disease, Medicare spending on Alzheimer’s disease is low. Medicare covers medical screening, diagnosis, treatment and only limited short-term care associated with Alzheimer’s. It is families and state Medicaid programs who bear the brunt of the remaining costs of this expensive disease.  In addition, the study shows that:

• 40% of deceased beneficiaries have Alzheimer’s disease or unspecified dementia diagnoses in their claims history.
• In their last nine years of life, Alzheimer’s disease added about 11 percent to the average $17,000 per year Medicare cost for same-risk beneficiaries without dementia.

You can find the study here.