Thursday, February 27, 2020

Blue Cross Plans Say Alzheimer’s Has Tripled Among Adults Ages 30 To 64


Bruce Japsen Senior Contributor Feb 27, 2020
Early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease[+]
GETTY
Early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease jumped 200% among commercially insured Americans between the ages of 30 and 64 over a recent five-year period, a new analysis of Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurer claims shows.
The report, the latest from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, shows 131,000 people between the ages of “30 and 64 were diagnosed with either form of dementia” in 2017. The average age of someone “with either condition is 49 and women are disproportionately impacted than men,” the report, which is the latest in the trade group’s “The Health of America” series, shows.
In 2017, there were 12.6 diagnoses per 10,000 adults of either early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease for commercially insured adults aged 30 to 64, the report said. That compares to 4.2 diagnoses per 10,000 adults of early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease combined for the same 30 to 64 age group in 2013.
“The increase in early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s diagnoses among a generation who typically wouldn’t expect to encounter these conditions for several decades is concerning, especially since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Vincent Nelson, vice president of medical affairs for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which gathered data for the report from a database of medical claims of more than 48 million commercially insured Blue Cross customers.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a large health insurance industry trade group and lobby and its members include: Anthem, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states; Health Care Service Corp. which operates Blues plans in five states; and Florida Blue.
The report calls attention to data that shows where healthcare providers, insurers and others need to focus to improve quality and reduce costs. The cost of providing care for Americans with Alzheimer’s disease has eclipsed a quarter trillion dollarsaccording to the Alzheimer’s Association, as baby boomers age and the U.S. healthcare system struggles to find people to care for this fast-growing population.
“Further education and research is needed to learn more about early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s, how to treat these conditions and what can be done to better prevent diagnoses,” Nelson said.
Here are some other highlights from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report:
·          “Diagnosis rates of early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are higher in the East, the South and parts of the Midwest, while western states show lower rates of diagnosis.”
·          “86% of people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease received brain imaging in the year prior to diagnosis.”
·          “57% of people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease filled an antidepressant medication in the year prior to diagnosis.”
·      More than 37,000 “commercially insured Americans between the ages of 30 and 64 were diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2017.

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