Families of Alzheimer’s patients often deal with difficult decisions

BY PAULA BURKES Comments 2
Published: May 31, 2009

Tammy Moore, 45, of Oklahoma City once earned $120,000 as an executive for a medical billing company. Today, she’s facing bankruptcy and hoping to hang onto her $40,000-a-year job.

Multimedia

Photoview all photos

Moore’s ailing career and personal finances directly correspond to the failing health of her 79-year-old mother who, after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, moved in with her five years ago.

For flexible hours, Moore accepted a step-down billing manager’s job at an orthopedic practice, but started doing medical billing from home a year ago, after her mother was found roaming the neighborhood. Then, two weeks ago, Moore moved her mom into the locked-down wing of an assisted living center.

"My doctor gave me a choice: place mom or she’d get a court order for my hospitalization,” said Moore, who’s suffering from high blood pressure, severe depression, exhaustion and financial hardship.

Medicare and Medicaid covered most of her mother’s medical bills, but her mom’s $600 monthly Social Security check fell short of covering Moore’s extra costs including a larger rent home, exorbitant utility bills when her mom left on the stove and lights, medical co-pays, buttonless clothing, disposable diapers, antacids, support hose and Ensure. Moore recently returned her sport-utility vehicleto the dealer and fears she’ll have to file for bankruptcy.

"I gave up everything, but I’d do it again,” she said.

Moore’s experiences are common to many families who reach out to the Alzheimer’s Association for support and education, said Mark Fried, executive vice president of the association’s Oklahoma and Arkansas chapter.

"There’s lots of concern over the tsunami effect the disease has on health care costs and on society’s economics,” Fried said.

Patients on average live eight to 10 years with the disease and, because they need such hands-on care, their health costs are triple that of seniors without the disease, Fried said.

According to the latest data, annual costs average $33,000, about 66 percent of which comes from Medicare and Medicaid.

"Skilled nursing facilities can cost $2,500 to $5,000 a month, and there’s not a lot out there,” Fried said. "Most families feel the longer they can keep their loved ones at home, the better care they’ll receive,” he said.

The Census Bureau confirms a growing trend of multigenerational families. I

n 2007, 3.6 million parents were living with their adult children, up from 2.3 million in 2000 — a 55 percent increase.

"Many seniors need the emotional support and, in this economic times, the financial support of an extended family,” said David Loftis, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care franchise in Oklahoma City. According to a recent Home Instead survey, 43 percent of caregivers live with the loved one for whom they care.

Home Instead offers relief for caregivers, providing cooking, cleaning, transportation, sitting and other nonmedical services on an hourly or 24-hour basis. Costs are $16 to $18 an hour for a minimum three-hour visit, and lower for round-the-clock care.

"Most people absolutely don’t have the money to pay for a facility, so there’s a huge need for our services,” Loftis said.

Tammie Morgan, 49, of Oklahoma City has talked about such services, including adult day care, for her mother, whom she moved into her home in January. Morgan suspects her mom, 79, has been living with Alzheimer’s for a while, but hid it. Realization came when Morgan found that her mother had taken a week’s worth of medication in three days and had lost control of her checkbook.

"She’s cognizant for the most part, but I see her getting worse every day,” said Morgan, who works fulltime as an aircraft title examiner. "I want to take care of her until she becomes a danger to herself. We’re taking it one day at a time.”