Alzheimer's: The Economic Toll

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Monday February 09, 2015 · 7:11 AM PST

2015/02/09 · 07:11

Most people think of Alzheimer’s in terms of its most profound clinical effects: the memory loss, confusion, wandering off etc. Not many outside of the caregivers are cognizant of its economic implications.

I was one of those people up until recently – this was brought home with the passing of my grandmother right around the holidays and the subsequent events afterwards.

Alzheimers BY THE NUMBERS

To understand the scope of the impact you have to look at some of the numbers:

Over five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, with 200,000 under the age of 65.
Deaths from Alzheimer’s have increased 68 percent between 2000 and 2010

With the first of the baby boomer generation now turning 65, the U.S. population aged 65 and over is expected to double by 2030.

Caring for people with Alzheimer’s will cost all payers - Medicare, Medicaid, individuals, private insurance and HMOs -- $20 trillion over the next 40 years, enough to pay off the national debt and still send a $10,000 check to every man, woman and child in America.

In 2012, America will have spent an estimated $200 billion in direct costs for those with Alzheimer’s, including $140 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid.

Testimony from Harry Johns, CEO, Alzheimer’s Association, Committee on Appropriations, US House of Representatives, March 13, 2013

Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers had $8.7 billion in additional health costs in 2011 Read More

A Letter to the President about Jobs

digitalmuse

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Wednesday November 07, 2012 · 6:09 AM PST

2012/11/07 · 06:09

A vent perhaps, but something that needs to be said. At 46 with a mother who is 80 and a grandmother who is 100 both looking to me to "help" i don't really have the luxury of waiting for a better time to speak/vent

The letter is after the squiggle

digitalmuse

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Thursday October 25, 2012 · 12:08 PM PDT

2012/10/25 · 12:08

After another phone call by a local home medical supply company to harass my mother into trying to find a way to BUY a hospital bed for her 100 year old mother I am way beyond pissed off and truly need to vent. The latest in this saga has them now calling and telling her that Medicare will not pay for the bed railings that currently are on the bed to prevent an ALZHEIMERS patient from falling out of the bed an injuring herself. And since Medicare has not PAID them yet she offered the opportunity to BUY the bed outright. REALLY?
Listening to the oblivious idiots running for office this election blithely express their desire to deconstruct medicare and medicaid understandably sets my blood to boiling. Not to mention those willfully ignorant who will actually go to the polls and vote for this. Let me share some of what you can expect if you manage to live into "old age".

digitalmuse

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Sunday September 02, 2012 · 9:26 AM PDT

2012/09/02 · 09:26

Insomnia is bad enough in and of itself but when it is accompanied by run ins with GOP bots spouting rhetoric - I am not President Obama and my political correctness button has a limited shelf life. That being said I post this diary as a reminder of what stupidity we are up against and to keep my pressure from elevating and winding me up as another uninsured individual visiting the emergency room....read more after the squiggle...The names have been changed for effect but the conversation is real and was//is taking place someplace over in facebook land this morning...The typos are verbatim and left in for authenticity's sake....the following are excerpted from the thread which as of right now still is in existence...although its awfully quite out on the "western front" right now.

digitalmuse

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Thursday January 20, 2011 · 6:18 AM PST

2011/01/20 · 06:18

After reading the transcript from SC Gov. Haley I could only shake my head in amazement and feel a sense of foreboding. In a speech that emphasized cutting back on government spending, which includes not funding Arts Programs, and looking for ways to decrease federal funding for much needed programs I wonder how long it will be before buyers remorse sets in for all those misinformed and misguided souls who voted her into office.
You can read the transcript of her speech here:
The T and D

digitalmuse

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Sunday June 20, 2010 · 11:40 AM PDT

2010/06/20 · 11:40

Just in the process of relocating to South Carolina and during my Sunday morning brunch ran into a "Letter to the Editor" that goes a long way to explain some of the goings on with regards to Politics in South Carolina of late.

I could probably do individual diaries for all the insane points brought forward in this letter but life is too short. Shining a light on the sublimely ridiculous for now will have to suffice. We that are progressive and lay claim to at least even a modicum of intellect will find it hard reading and, I daresay next to impossible to fathom or understand without one's head exploding in the process.

The mindset of the writer has to be along the lines of a bonafide tin-foil wearing birther who is utterly allergic to the truth. The writer cheerfully and willingly subscribes to fantasies of the highest order to explain topics, concepts and policies that they for the most part show no understanding of.

These points all bear mentioning as it is hard to engage the enemy without knowing as much about them as possible, including the things that motivate them and what their rationale(term used loosely here) might be.

digitalmuse

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Sunday June 06, 2010 · 3:19 PM PDT

2010/06/06 · 15:19

You are in the current BP disaster ROV, number 65. Number 64 is here.

Please DO NOT Rec this diary, rather REC THE MOTHERSHIP instead. She needs your love to stay afloat.

Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.

PLEASE visit Crashing Vor's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor for working on this!

For a description of the mothership/ROV liveblogging process, check out this thread.

digitalmuse

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Sunday July 26, 2009 · 3:52 PM PDT

2009/07/26 · 15:52

Healthcare reform in this country is not an option it is a dire need that is way past due. One would be hard pressed not to find someone who does not have their own war story about seeking medical attention and how it affected and or changed their lives.

digitalmuse

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Monday March 30, 2009 · 6:51 AM PDT

2009/03/30 · 06:51

When I started out on the journey to getting healthier close to three years ago I had no idea how far I could or would go or how I would get there. The realization that I needed to make some changes in my life came after I was diagnosed with a hip condition that the doctor recommended that I lose some weight to alleviate some of the pressure and pain that I was feeling at the time. I was in fact at that time unable to walk without pain and had a pronounced limp or sideways gait if you will. Having always been a person who liked walking It was a real sharp wake up call and I decided back then to join a gym and start working out on a regular basis.

digitalmuse

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Tuesday March 17, 2009 · 6:50 AM PDT

2009/03/17 · 06:50

This morning finds most Americans thoroughly disgusted and completely fed up with the primary beneficiaries of the government bailouts who continue to thumb their noses at the rest of us and doling out bonuses to executives who at the very least don’t deserve them. Not when the company in question, namely AIG had a 4th quarter loss of $61 billion dollars – largest in history ? Bonuses? Really?

AIG had a 4th quarter loss of $61 billion dollarsThis in addition to the $5.2 billion dollar loss earlier in the year-currently trading today at .85 a share?

digitalmuse

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Monday October 27, 2008 · 12:02 PM PDT

2008/10/27 · 12:02

I just got off the phone with my 75 year old mother who was understandably upset after having a run in with some pitiable individuals who thought it would be a good idea to go onto private property for the purposes of destroying my mother's Obama signs that she has on her front lawn and has had them out there since the primaries.

Details on this ignorant act and the people who did it after the jump

digitalmuse

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Monday June 02, 2008 · 6:38 PM PDT

2008/06/02 · 18:38

I originally found the grieving room as a sidebar to my hanging out on the kos site during the current democratic primaries. When I was asked if I would like to write I graciously accepted because in fact it is one of the few times that I get to speak about my son. I find it unwise to talk about my son, Dante with my mother much because she gets really depressed really quickly. I talk about him on occasion with my boyfriend but I find myself reluctant to monopolize our time together talking about him too much. Aside from the two mentioned I really don’t talk about my son with anyone else.

The aftermath of his passing has unfortunately left me pretty much to my own devices in that, don’t really have too many friends. It’s kind of a challenge right now to make new friends. Those "once upon a time" friends have pretty much taken steps back which actually started when my son was sick. The classic "Hollywood" response where people come over to check on you or offer to go shopping for you or cook etc. was not part of my experience either during or after my son’s passing.

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Alzheimer's: The Economic Toll

A Letter to the President about Jobs

47% Alzheimer's Medicare and Medicaid - A Rant

Nurse Ratchet - GOP Talking Points and All

Updated* SC Gov State Address - The Nightmare Begins

South Carolina Op Ed - Fiction Trumps The Truth

BOP Oilpocalypse ROV Diary #65

For Lack Of Healthcare Reform - People are Dying

Fitness Monday - Motivation Finding and Keeping It

SHINING A LIGHT ON GREED

The racist stuff is Not funny - more sign vandals

The Grieving Room - One is the Loneliest Number-Remembering My Only Son, Dante'