Your ZIP code may determine your dementia diagnosis, study finds [Video]

Imagine: You and your sister are 66-year-old twins on Medicare who share the same family history of Alzheimer’s disease, making an early diagnosis critical for long-term planning and preventive health care. Since Medicare provides coverage for a cognitive screening as part of each year’s wellness visit, you believe that diagnosis, if needed, will occur.Video above: A new test may be able to detect early signs of dementiaLet’s say you live in Hartford, Connecticut. Your sister is some 26 miles away in Springfield, Massachusetts — so close that you often share Sunday dinners. Yet according to a new study, you are 18% more likely to obtain a diagnosis of dementia in Hartford than your sister in Springfield.How could this be? According to Medicare data, the health care system in Connecticut may be doing a better job than Massachusetts of screening and diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias and referring patients to …