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Pennsylvania Heads Into Deep Crisis In Elderly Care, Experts Warn, As Alzheimer’s And Dementia Rates Continue To Rise, State’s Preparedness Plan Continues To falter, Costs Outrageous care puts pressure on state and family budgets.
Spotlight PA and PublicSource examined the remarkably high stakes in Pennsylvania, home to one of the nation’s oldest populations, and found a wealth of statistics demonstrating both the urgency of the problem and the freezing pace of the response. and the dollar amounts behind a “public health crisis with a looming financial crisis on top.”
Here are the numbers that stand out:
Deferred action
Seven: The number of years since a state-commissioned plan outlined steps to prepare for and respond to the growing dementia crisis in Pennsylvania.
Eight: The number of actions (out of nine chosen) still unfinished or not yet started.
Outnumbered
1,500: The number of certified geriatric psychiatrists nationwide.
6 million: The number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease nationwide.
13 million: The projected number of Alzheimer’s disease patients nationwide by 2050.
Care crisis
320,000: The projected number of Alzheimer’s cases in Pennsylvania by 2025.
61,760: The number of cases that are likely to be serious, according to NIH-funded research, and more likely to require full-time dementia-specific services in an elderly care facility.
17 157: The current capacity for full-time dementia-specific services in Pennsylvania-licensed senior care facilities.
Need gaps
21,290: The increase in the number of Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries in Pennsylvania with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia disorder observed between 2015 and 2020.
$ 50: According to the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, which represents for-profit facilities, the amount reimbursed by Medicaid in Pennsylvania – a primary payer for dementia care services in nursing homes – is insufficient per resident per day.
Limited support
4,564: The number of people who received reimbursements from the Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program in 2020.
500,000: The estimated number of unpaid family caregivers statewide.
Shock sticker
$ 58,692: The average annual cost of memory care for an individual in Pennsylvania.
$ 34,352: Average annual income per person in Pennsylvania, according to the US Census Bureau.
Hidden costs
$ 3.7 billion: The amount spent annually under the Pennsylvania Medicaid program for Alzheimer’s care, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
$ 10 billion: The value of the unpaid care provided by Pennsylvanians each year to a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, which advocates say demonstrates a much greater need for publicly funded services.
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