A new report projects the expense to Medicaid for people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease in Iowa and nationwide will increase dramatically over the next decade. Melissa Kramer, spokeswoman for the Greater Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, says the costs will have a tremendous impact on the thousands of patients in Iowa who are living with the memory-robbing disease….
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Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. Alzheimer’s accounts for 60- to 80-percent of dementia cases. A majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 years old and older, but early onset can strike someone in their 40s or 50s…
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There is no cure for Alzheimer’s. Kramer says last year in Iowa, it was estimated there were 62,000 people statewide who’d been diagnosed with the disease.