More and More Assisted Living Facilities, Nursing Homes Providing Alzheimer's Care, Some with Additional Costs, According to MetLife Mature Market Institute Study

A survey by the MetLife Mature Market Institute(R) shows that 61%of assisted living facilities in the U.S. provide specialized care forthose suffering from dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, with fully50% charging extra for the service. Of those with additional costs,rates ranged considerably, from $50 to $3,000 per month with themajority reporting additional costs of up to $1,000 per month.

Of nursing homes surveyed, 36% had separate dementia units and 80%charged no additional fees. Of those with special units, fees rangedfrom $10 to $25 per day.

The findings also indicated that 71% of agencies offering homehealth aide services provided their staff with training specific tocaring for someone with Alzheimer's disease or a similar disorder.

The study is part of MetLife's research and education effortsabout Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging.

"Care for those with Alzheimer's disease is an increasing concernfor families as the population ages," said Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D,director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute. "This new researchcontributes to our previous findings indicating that many assistedliving facilities, nursing homes and home care agencies are addressingAlzheimer's care through specialized services, staff training and thecreation of living units designed specifically for those who haveAlzheimer's disease. And the number of facilities providing dementiacare is bound to grow in the years ahead.

"The financial impact of Alzheimer's disease can be staggering, aswell. According to our annual market surveys of nursing homes andassisted living facilities, the overall cost of long-term care isincreasing each year at rates greater than inflation," saidTimmermann. "Because individuals with Alzheimer's may live from 8 to10 years and even up to 20 years with the disease, families may needto pay for care over a long period of time. While we found that manyfacilities do not charge extra for Alzheimer's care, or charge onlysmall additional fees, the generally high cost of long-term care, theduration of the disease and the hidden costs associated with the needfor 24-hour supervision can lead to very high expenditures over time."

The average price in 2005 for a private room in a nursing home inthe U.S. was $74,095 annually and $34,860 for an assisted livingfacility, according to the Mature Market Institute. For care receivedthrough a home care agency in 2005, the national average for homehealth aide service was $19 per hour, $17 for homemaker or companionservices, also according to the Institute. Assisted living costsincreased 15% from 2004 to 2005 while nursing home costs rose 5.7%;home health care aide costs were up 5.5% over the same period.

Alzheimer's disease, first diagnosed by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in1906, is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the thought,memory and language parts of the brain, and results in permanent lossof mental capabilities.

The Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Agingestimate that the national direct and indirect annual costs of caringfor individuals with Alzheimer's disease are at least $100 billion. Ithas also been estimated that Alzheimer's disease costs Americanbusiness $61 billion a year, according to a report commissioned by theAlzheimer's Association. Of that figure, $24.6 billion coversAlzheimer health care and $36.5 billion covers costs related tocaregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's, including lostproductivity, absenteeism, and worker replacement.

The data regarding additional costs for dementia patients atassisted living facilities and nursing homes was part of additionalquestioning posed for the 2005 MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home &Home Care Costs and the 2005 MetLife Market Survey of Assisted LivingCosts. The studies were conducted for the MetLife Mature MarketInstitute(R) by LifePlans, Inc., a risk management consulting firmproviding data analysis and information. The 87 geographic areassurveyed within the 50 states and the District of Columbia were chosenon the basis of population to obtain a reasonably balanced sampling.

The MetLife Mature Market Institute is MetLife's information andpolicy resource center on issues related to aging, retirement,long-term care and the mature market. The Institute, staffed bygerontologists, provides research, training and education,consultation and information to support MetLife, its corporatecustomers and business partners.

MetLife, a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) is a leadingprovider of insurance and other financial services to millions ofindividual and institutional customers throughout the United States.Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. offers lifeinsurance, annuities, automobile and homeowner's insurance and retailbanking services to individuals, as well as group insurance,reinsurance and retirement and savings products and services tocorporations and other institutions. Outside the U.S., the MetLifecompanies have direct insurance operations in Asia Pacific, LatinAmerica and Europe. For more information, please visitwww.metlife.com.

For more information related to caring for someone withAlzheimer's Disease, or if you need assistance in identifyingresources, you can obtain the Since You Care Guide: Alzheimer'sDisease - Caregiving Challenges, which was produced by the MetLifeMature Market Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving. Itis one in a series of guides specifically written to assistindividuals in need of long-term care and the families who are caringfor them. The guide includes a listing of Web sites, books, and otherresources related to Alzheimer's disease. Single copies of thispublication are available free of charge by calling 1-203-221-6580, bye-mail, maturemarketinstitute@metlife.com, atwww.maturemarketinstitute.com or by writing to MetLife Mature MarketInstitute, 57 Greens Farms Road, Westport, CT 06880.

For more on MetLife's commitment to Alzheimer's disease, visit:www.metlife.com/metlifeandalzheimers

Editor's note: The summary of Alzheimer's Care: SupplementalFindings to the 2005 MetLife Market Surveys of Nursing Home/Home Careand Assisted Living Costs is available at:http://www.maturemarketinstitute.com/ under 'What's New.'