Maine
Increase Public Awareness, Early Detection And Diagnosis
Healthy Brains = Healthy Maine
Early detection and diagnosis gives families impacted by Alzheimer's the most time to plan, prepare, and address the challenges of living with dementia. The Healthy Brain Initiative provides the necessary actions to make all Maine healthcare providers understand the importance of early detection, diagnosis, how to diagnose, and how to appropriately bill. This initiative needs a coordinator to make sure everything at the state level is being done to help Mainers affected by this devastating disease.
Build a Dementia-Capable Workforce
Ensure a Dementia Capable Workforce in Maine
We support legislation that will require competency based dementia training for all Maine physicians, physician's assistants, registered nurses and practical nurses. Early detection and diagnosis is essential to protecting the well-being and safety of people with dementia. Unfortunately, as many as half of people with dementia have never received a diagnosis. Moreover, of those who have been diagnosed, only 35 percent of them or their caregivers are made aware of the diagnosis. Our dementia care professionals must have the proper skills to diagnose, treat and provide quality care to dementia patients.
Enhance the Quality of Care in Residential Settings
Safe, Smart, Smooth Care Transitions for Alzheimer's
Create vital, new neurobehavioral services for people living with dementia and TBI in order to ensure smooth transitions between care settings, coordination among health and long-term care service providers, and ultimately reducing improper displacement and costs across the care continuum in Maine.
Advance Alzheimer's Policy
Stick to the Plan
The State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in Maine provides the necessary steps in order to address the Alzheimer's public health crisis. This plan needs a coordinator to make sure everything at the state level is being done to help Mainers affected by this devastating disease. We need to stick to the plan implement phase III and IV of the plan. We need ALZ Coordinator to do this vital work.
Advance Alzheimer's Policy
Paid Leave for All Alzheimer's Caregivers in the Workforce
In Maine, there are currently 28,000 people age 65 and older living with Alzheimer's disease, with an additional 69,000 people providing $992 million dollars in unpaid care and support for them this year. Nearly half of Alzheimer's caregivers had to reduce their own expenses – including food, medical care, and transportation – to pay for dementia-related care for a loved one with Alzheimer's. These family caregivers are 28% more likely than other adults to eat less or go hungry because they cannot afford food due to the high out of pocket expenses. To put this in context, the out of pocket expenses for Alzheimer's are twice as high as cancer, and 74% higher than cardiovascular disease. Caregivers who lost income because they had to cut back or quit work to meet the demands of caregiving, lost, on average, $15,000 a year. Paid leave for family caregivers would keep caregivers in the workforce and afford them the time and resources to meet the heavy demands brought by this devastating disease.
Maine State Plan Overview
In June 2011, Maine's legislature commissioned a state task force with the enactment of LD 859, calling for a study of the impact of Alzheimer's disease and the creation of a guide to help the state meet the needs of individuals and families impacted by this disease. The task force included representatives from elder law, community organizations, state agencies, academia, and law enforcement as well as caregivers, individuals living with the disease, state legislators, and health care providers. After soliciting public feedback, the task force published the State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in Maine in June 2012.
Maine State Advocacy Day
January 24, 2019
The State Advocacy Day will provide opportunities for advocates to meet face-to-face with their state elected officials. Advocates will both share their personal stories of how Alzheimer's has impacted their lives and make strategic requests of state policymakers.
2020 Advocacy Forum
March 22-24, 2020 alz.org/forum
As an Alzheimer's advocate, you've worked to advance critical public policy, making a difference in the lives of all those impacted by Alzheimer's. Together we've achieved great increases in federal Alzheimer's research funding and secured critical advances in care and support. But we can't take our successes for granted — we need to keep the pressure on.
Join us in Washington for an inspiring three-day event filled with networking, training and education.
Be part of the movement that's making a difference in the fight against Alzheimer's.
Sign Up to Learn More About Advocacy Opportunities in Maine
State Affairs Contact Adam Lacher | | [email protected]
Elected Officials
Enter your address here to see your elected officials' positions on Alzheimer's and ways you can contact them to support the Alzheimer's community.
Number of People Aged 65 and Older With Alzheimer's by Age
| Year | 65-74 | 75-84 | 85+ | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 4,700 | 12,000 | 11,000 | 28,000 |
| 2025 | 5,600 | 17,000 | 13,000 | 35,000 |
Percentage change from 2019
Medicaid
$205
MILLION
Medicaid costs of caring for people with Alzheimer's (2019)
32.6%
change in costs from 2019 to 2025
Medicare
$19,827
per capita Medicare spending on people with dementia (in 2018 dollars)
HOSPICE (2016)
#
of people in hospice have a primary diagnosis of dementia
of people in hospice with a primary diagnosis of dementia
Hospitals (2015)
#
of emergency department visits per 1,000 people with dementia
dementia patient hospital readmission rate
Caregiving
Number of Caregivers
Total Hours of Unpaid Care
Total Value of Unpaid Care
Higher Health Costs of Caregivers
Number of Deaths from Alzheimer's Disease (2017)
| 6th | leading cause of death in Maine |
For more information, view the 2019 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report at alz.org/facts.
U.S. Statistics
Over 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, and as many as 14 million will have the disease in 2050. The cost of caring for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias is estimated to total $290 billion in 2019, increasing to $1.1 trillion (in today's dollars) by mid-century. Nearly one in every three seniors who dies each year has Alzheimer's or another dementia.