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Statistics About the Financial Costs of Alzheimer's Disease

From , former About.com Guide

Updated: September 23, 2006

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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 CaregivingImportance of Early Diagnosis in Alzheimer's DiseaseAlzheimer's Caregiver Quiz

    Elsewhere on the Web

    Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesMedicare.gov nursing Home Compare

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