Alarm bells have been sounding for the past few years, nationally, as well as at the state level, where a panel of experts has been working from several angles.
Georgia is anticipating a sizable increase in people living with Alzheimer’s by 2025, in part, due to the state’s growing appeal as a retirement destination.
Will Georgia have the funding, facilities and professional caregivers needed to handle a projected spike in people living with Alzheimer’s from the current 140,000 to 190,000 by 2025?
That’s a major concern, given that Alzheimer’s is ranked as the most costly of all diseases because of the intense level of care required, the frequency of patient hospitalizations and its end-of-life expenses.
Ginny Helms, vice president of chapter services and public policy for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Georgia chapter, said costs to the Medicaid program alone for treatment of people living with Alzheimer’s are expected to jump from $1.038 billion in 2015 to $1.544 billion in 2025 in Georgia.