Cumulative costs of care for people with Alzheimer's disease from 2010 to 2050 will exceed $20 trillion, says a report from the Alzheimer’s Association. It also says that the number of Americans age 65 and older who have this type of dementia will increase from 5.1 million today to 13.5 million by mid-century.
“We know that Alzheimer’s disease is not just ‘a little memory loss. It is a national crisis that grows worse by the day,” says Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Alzheimer’s not only poses a significant threat to millions of families, but also drives tremendous costs for government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.” He refers to the disease as an "unfolding natural disaster" to which the government's response has been "stunningly neglectful."
The report, "Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer’s Disease: A National Imperative," indicates that without disease-modifying treatments, total costs (not adjusted for inflation) of care for people with Alzheimer’s disease will climb from $172 billion in 2010 to more than $1 trillion in 2050. The cumulative yearly cost will reach $20.4 trillion.
Annual Medicare costs are expected to rise more than 600 percent--from $88 billion per year today to $627 billion in 2050. And, annual Medicaid costs will rise more than 400 percent--from $34 billion to $178 billion in the same time period.
A disease-modifying treatment that has the ability to delay the onset of Alzheimer's, or a treatment that slows the disease progression, could significantly improve the financial outlook.
“Today, there are no treatments that can prevent, delay, slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” Johns says. “While the ultimate goal is a treatment that can completely prevent or cure Alzheimer’s, we can now see that even modest improvements can have a huge impact.”
“We know that Alzheimer’s disease is not just ‘a little memory loss. It is a national crisis that grows worse by the day,” says Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Alzheimer’s not only poses a significant threat to millions of families, but also drives tremendous costs for government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.” He refers to the disease as an "unfolding natural disaster" to which the government's response has been "stunningly neglectful."
The report, "Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer’s Disease: A National Imperative," indicates that without disease-modifying treatments, total costs (not adjusted for inflation) of care for people with Alzheimer’s disease will climb from $172 billion in 2010 to more than $1 trillion in 2050. The cumulative yearly cost will reach $20.4 trillion.
Annual Medicare costs are expected to rise more than 600 percent--from $88 billion per year today to $627 billion in 2050. And, annual Medicaid costs will rise more than 400 percent--from $34 billion to $178 billion in the same time period.
A disease-modifying treatment that has the ability to delay the onset of Alzheimer's, or a treatment that slows the disease progression, could significantly improve the financial outlook.
“Today, there are no treatments that can prevent, delay, slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” Johns says. “While the ultimate goal is a treatment that can completely prevent or cure Alzheimer’s, we can now see that even modest improvements can have a huge impact.”
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