%0 Journal Article %J Ann Intern Med %D 2015 %T The burden of health care costs for patients with dementia in the last 5 years of life. %A Amy Kelley %A Kathleen McGarry %A Rebecca Jean Gorges %A Jonathan S Skinner %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Cost of Illness %K Dementia %K Female %K Health Expenditures %K Humans %K Insurance, Health %K Male %K Medicaid %K Medicare %K Retrospective Studies %K Socioeconomic factors %K Terminal Care %K United States %X

BACKGROUND: Common diseases, particularly dementia, have large social costs for the U.S. population. However, less is known about the end-of-life costs of specific diseases and the associated financial risk for individual households.

OBJECTIVE: To examine social costs and financial risks faced by Medicare beneficiaries 5 years before death.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort.

SETTING: The HRS (Health and Retirement Study).

PARTICIPANTS: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, aged 70 years or older, who died between 2005 and 2010 (n = 1702), stratified into 4 groups: persons with a high probability of dementia or those who died because of heart disease, cancer, or other causes.

MEASUREMENTS: Total social costs and their components, including Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, out-of-pocket spending, and informal care, measured over the last 5 years of life; and out-of-pocket spending as a proportion of household wealth.

RESULTS: Average total cost per decedent with dementia ($287 038) was significantly greater than that of those who died of heart disease ($175 136), cancer ($173 383), or other causes ($197 286) (P < 0.001). Although Medicare expenditures were similar across groups, average out-of-pocket spending for patients with dementia ($61 522) was 81% higher than that for patients without dementia ($34 068); a similar pattern held for informal care. Out-of-pocket spending for the dementia group (median, $36 919) represented 32% of wealth measured 5 years before death compared with 11% for the nondementia group (P < 0.001). This proportion was greater for black persons (84%), persons with less than a high school education (48%), and unmarried or widowed women (58%).

LIMITATION: Imputed Medicaid, private insurance, and informal care costs.

CONCLUSION: Health care expenditures among persons with dementia were substantially larger than those for other diseases, and many of the expenses were uncovered (uninsured). This places a large financial burden on families, and these burdens are particularly pronounced among the demographic groups that are least prepared for financial risk.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Institute on Aging.

%B Ann Intern Med %I 163 %V 163 %P 729-36 %8 2015 Nov 17 %G eng %N 10 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26502320?dopt=Abstract %4 Care and treatment/Public Policy/Financial risk/Dementia/Medicare/Palliative care/Health care expenditures %$ 999999 %R 10.7326/M15-0381