Health Data on Frederick County Seniors

Frederick County AERS (Adult Evaluation and Review Services) Program

• 1,234 residents evaluated in 2023*

Frederick Health Hospital/Emergency Room Data (12-01-17 through 11-30-19**)

• 12,471 individuals over the age of 62 with limited financial means (determined by payment source) arrived at ED
  • 85.6% of total arrived by ambulance
  • 53% were discharged from ED
  • 33.4% received inpatient admission
  • 12.8% admitted for observation
  • <1% received an inpatient behavioral health unit admission or same day surgery
• Of the 12,471 individuals, 11,337 were unique patients with 1,134 seniors coming into the ED more than once in the 2-year time period.
• Chronic Diseases
  • 52% of the 11,337 had a diagnosis of chronic disease:
• 26.3%  diabetes
• 27.5%  mental health disorder
• 13.2%  congestive heart failure
• 10.6%  congestive heart failure
• 10.2%  substance use disorder

• Falls
  • Just over 12% of the 11,337 individuals had a fall with injury included in their diagnosis at the time of visit
• Costs
  • Total hospital charges for this specific population during this time frame: $109,895,467
• 86% of this total cost ($94,350,018) were for patients with chronic disease:
• Mental Health Disorder:  $65,397,218
• Diabetes   $47,995,552

*2021 Annual Report, Frederick County Health Department

**Senior Population of Frederick County with Limited Health Insurance Data Report, Frederick Health Hospital, December 2019

Health Insurance for seniors 65 years of age or older (2022 ACS)

• 99.7% insured
• 94.1%   Medicare coverage alone or in combination
• 8.1 %     Medicaid/means-tested public coverage alone or in combination
• 5.0%     VA health care coverage alone or in combination

Dual Eligibility

• In CY 2023, Frederick County had a total of 3,535 residents 65 and over who qualified as Dual Eligibles, an increase of 1,248 since 2014.*
  • 2,079 were Full Dual Eligibles, an increase of 694 since 2014.*
  • 1,456 were Partial Dual Eligibles, an increase of 554 since 2014.*
• 52% of all CY2019 Maryland full-benefit dual-eligibles had 6 or more chronic conditions; 73% had 4 or more chronic conditions.*
• The most prevalent chronic conditions in those aged 65 and over were hypertension, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease, and arthritis. High blood pressure and diabetes were 2 of the most prevalent. *
• On average, full-benefit dual-eligible beneficiaries with six or more chronic conditions incurred costs of $61,064 per person, while those with only one chronic condition had costs of $7,089, very slight decreases from CY2012. *

*Maryland Department of Health