Health and Healthcare

The Devastating Cost of Alzheimer's Care

Sad lonely pensive old senior woman
Source: Thinkstock
Providing care for a parent or loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia costs $20,000 or more for 42% of Americans. About a third of those pay $30,000 or more for a year of care.

The information comes from a new report at Caring.com, a subsidiary of Bankrate. Costs include out-of-pocket expenses for assisted living, professional in-home caregivers, medication and medical bills, incontinence products, wandering products, transportation and other expenses.

Caring.com notes that 62% of those surveyed are paying for Alzheimer’s care out of their own pockets, and 51% are using their loved one’s savings. A third use government benefits and 42% use the patient’s health care plan, while 16% use a credit card and 10% use long-term care insurance.

Andy Cohen, Caring.com’s CEO, said:

More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple as the population continues to age. The majority of family caregivers care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s for at least a few years, with some even extending over a decade. For nearly half of caregivers, caring for Alzheimer’s could cost up to $100,000 or more over just five years.

These costs do not include the unpaid hours that caregivers — 75% of whom are women, according to Caring.com — devote to providing care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that in 2013 15.5 million caregivers provided 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care that had a value of more than $220 billion (about $12.50 an hour). The group also noted that the toll on a caregiver’s health added $9.3 billion in health care costs for the caregivers themselves.

One last sobering fact from the Alzheimer’s Association on the costs associated with the condition:

In 2014, the direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer’s will total an estimated $214 billion, including $150 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid. Despite these staggering figures, Alzheimer’s will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion (in today’s dollars) in 2050.

ALSO READ: Breakthrough Blood Test in Identifying Alzheimer’s Disease

Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor

Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.