Economics
Spotting Alzheimer’s Early Could Save America $7.9 Trillion
A new report says the cost of care will increase by $20 billion in just one year. While there’s no cure, quicker diagnosis might lower the price tag.
Photographer: Matt Rourke/AP Photo
This article is for subscribers only.
Alzheimer’s disease is among the most expensive illnesses in the U.S. There’s no cure, no effective treatment and no easy fix for the skyrocketing financial cost of caring for an aging population.
Spending on care for people alive in the U.S. right now who will develop the affliction is projected to cost $47 trillion over the course of their lives, a report issued Tuesday by the Alzheimer’s Association found. The U.S. is projected to spend $277 billion on Alzheimer’s or other dementia care in 2018 alone, with an aging cohort of baby boomers pushing that number to $1.1 trillion by 2050.