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From: Gregfmason <[log in to unmask]>
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Subject: Fwd: New Financial Study of Parkinson's Disease Pegs Average...
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 20:13:37 EDT
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From: AOL News <[log in to unmask]>
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Subject: New Financial Study of Parkinson's Disease Pegs Average...
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 13:45:28 EDT
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New Financial Study of Parkinson's Disease Pegs Average Annual Cost at $24,000
CAUTION -- ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 6 P.M. EST, TODAY/
ADVANCE/ NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study of the financial costs
of Parkinson's disease estimates the total at $24,041 per patient in 1997.
The survey, which is based on already-available data drawn from a variety of
sources and takes account of the indirect economic costs of Parkinson's as
well as the direct costs of medical care, was conducted by John C. Robbins
Associates, a New York consulting firm, and commissioned by the Parkinson's
Disease Foundation, a not-for-profit fundraising and educational group.
If, as is commonly estimated, the number of people with Parkinson's in the
United States is about one million, the per capita costs derived in this study
would suggest an aggregate annual cost of the disease -- to individuals,
government and society combined -- in the order of $24 billion.
The study takes into account indirect costs -- for example, disability
payments by government and insurance plans and lost income due to forced early
retirement -- as well as the direct costs of medicines, surgery, doctor
visits, hospital and nursing home care and other medical expenses. These
indirect costs accounted for about two-thirds of the total: $15,169 per year,
compared with $8,872 for direct medical costs.
Costs vary widely by age of patient, the study found. For patients under age
50, the estimated average annual cost in 1997 was $28,023. For those of ages
50 through 64 -- the range at which a Parkinson's diagnosis is most likely to
force an involuntary reduction of work or application for disability -- the
average rises to $40,677. For older patients, the average declines again, to
$16,401 for those aged 65-74 and $13,388 for those over 75.
The report is being released today as part of the worldwide celebrations
marking World Parkinson's Day for 1998. To request a copy, contact Robin
Elliott.
SOURCE Parkinson's Disease Foundation
CO: Parkinson's Disease Foundation
ST: New York
IN: MTC FIN
SU:
04/20/98 13:41 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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