One of the big things that families with someone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease must deal with is elevated health care costs. However, research has shown that these individuals already have high health costs before an Alzheimer’s diagnosis has been made. This study shows that costs begin to go up about a year before the diagnosis is made, and then about two years after the diagnosis, costs are about double of what the average non-Alzheimer’s person of the same age will be paying at that point in their life. That’s about the level that it stabilizes at.
Health care is expensive no matter how you look at it, but when you have a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s cost shouldn’t be the main issue influencing your decisions. You have a number of other factors that also need to be taken into consideration, and although money should be a factor, it shouldn’t be the biggest one. You should be taking into account the quality of the care being given, the efficacy of the doctors and other medical professionals that your family is working with, and you need to take into account their comfort and happiness, too. This is one of the big reasons why senior care is so important in the bigger picture. You want high quality senior care, something that meets all of your loved one’s physical and mental needs, keeps them safe, and is also low costing. In-home care is a great fit for most people, yet it’s one of the most overlooked parts of any senior citizen’s overall care plan. It doesn’t matter if they have Alzheimer’s disease or not, many families go straight to something far more expensive, when in-home care can more than satisfy their needs, and at a cheaper cost.
Now, the study cited above took place in Finland, and used data from Finnish residents, but this makes the data that much more valuable. Finland is one of the healthiest countries in the world, and has one of the most highly reputed health care systems in the world. It looked at all of the costs associated with medications, care, hospital stays, and so on. Insurance costs, plus patient contributions were incorporated into the study.
Many states in the United States have realized that nursing homes and extended hospital stays are very expensive. Insurance companies and hospitals end up taking much of the costs on themselves, and this is often transferred to the state. In some cases, this is necessary, but not in every one of them. In-home health care is being used on a much wider basis than ever before, and it keeps growing in popularity. It’s far cheaper, and it is a huge help not only to the state, but also to the families that are paying for a portion of their loved one’s care. Alzheimer’s can be extremely difficult to handle when a loved one is suffering from it, and big health care bills should not be a concern as you and your family take on this challenge.
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