Alzheimer’s: Expensive, Deadly and Growing

September 18, 2014

Recently, Abigail Jones appeared on CSPAN to discuss Alzheimer’s disease and her Newsweek article, which features the White family.

The article, entitled “Alzheimer’s Is Expensive, Deadly and Growing. So Where’s the Research Money?” used Seth Rogan’s February appeal to the Senate as a launching point. Like Pam White, Rogan’s mother-in-law was also diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, at only 55. Says Rogan of his mother-in-law’s decent into Alzheimer’s disease, “After forgetting who she and her loved ones were, my mother-in-law, a teacher for 35 years, then forgot how to speak, feed herself, dress herself and go to the bathroom herself—all by the age of 60.”

Abigail Jones delves into further detail about how Alzheimer’s is perceived by the American public and policy makers. She also touches on the fact that, to date, Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease and, due to our rapidly aging population, it will become an increasingly expensive problem for everyone:

“If doctors don’t find a cure, the future is grim: By 2025, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is expected to grow by 40 percent to 7.1 million Americans, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2014 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Report.”

The cost of caring for patients with Alzheimer’s disease is about to rise by staggering proportions. States Jones, “Alzheimer’s is one of the costliest chronic diseases to the country. Total costs of caring for Americans with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is expected to reach $214 billion this year, with Medicare and Medicaid covering $150 billion and out-of-pocket expenses reaching $36 billion.”

Abigail cites Pam White and the affect that Alzheimer’s has had on the entire White family as a concrete example of the devastating reach of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. She aptly captures the love that lives on despite the isolation and inevitable changes that Alzheimer’s brings. Jones drives home the helplessness of the disease with a quote from Ed White: “My biggest problem is, I sometimes feel like I’m caged. I can’t even go buy a paintbrush without going through the big rigmarole of getting Mom dressed up and getting in the car. So I just have to—forget it. So? Remember the phenomenal life that she’s given me…So I sure as hell owe her this, even if it gets frustrating.”

It is our hope that as attention for the disease grows, so to will the demand for support for those affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementias.