Statistics About the Financial Costs of Alzheimer's Disease

by Christine Kennard

for About.com

Updated: September 23, 2006

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

Filed In:

The costs of caring for people with Alzheimer's are huge.

US costs

The annual direct and indirect costs of caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease is $100 billion

The average lifetime cost of care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is $174,000

The yearly cost of caring for someone with Alzheimer's depends on the stage of the disease.
$18,400 for someone with mild symptoms
$30,100 for moderate symptoms
$36,132 for severe symptoms.

Alzheimer's disease costs business $24.6 billion in health care

In the US 7 out of 10 people with Alzheimer's live at home where 75% of costs are absorbed by the family. The remaining 25% of care costs cost an average $19,000 a year

It is estimated that Alzheimer's caregivers cost business $36.5 billion. This include the costs of absenteeism and lost productivity.

The average cost of a nursing home in the US is $42,000 a year. However in some areas those costs can be at least $70,000

Medicare costs for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease were $91 billion in 2005. Medicare costs are expected to increase by 75% to $160 billion in 2010

Medicaid expenditures on residential dementia care were $21 billion in 2005. These cost are estimated to rise by 14% to $24 billion in 2010

Statistical sources: The Alzheimer’s Association
Ernst, RL; Hay, JW. “The U.S. Economic and Social Costs of Alzheimer’s Disease Revisited.” American Journal of Public Health 1994; 84(8): 1261 – 1264. For the $100 billion annual cost, this study cites figures based on 1991 data, which were updated in the journal’s press release to 1994 figures. Cited in 2001 – 2002 Alzheimer’s Disease Progress Report. National Institutes of Health publication number 03-5333, July 2003; p. 2.
Koppel, R. Alzheimer’s Disease: The Costs to U.S. Businesses in 2002. Washington, D.C.: Alzheimer’s Association; 2002. Rice, DP; et al. “The Economic Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease.” Health Affairs, Summer 1993; 12(2): 164 – 176. National Nursing Home Survey. National Center for Health Statistics, 1985; p. 49.
Saving Lives, Saving Money: Dividends for Americans Investing in Alzheimer Research. A report from the Lewin Group, commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Association. Washington, D.C.: 2004.
Fox, PJ; Kohatsu, N; et al. “Estimating Costs of Caring for People with Alzheimer’s Disease in California: 2000 - 2040.” Journal of Public Health Policy 2001; 22(1): 88 - 97

More About Financial Costs of Alzheimer's

Financial Caregiving Importance of Early Diagnosis in Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's Caregiver Quiz

Elsewhere on the Web

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare.gov nursing Home Compare

Explore Alzheimer's Disease

Must Reads