Dementia costs are on the rise and the money it takes to care for people with the disease will double by 2050, according to a report published Tuesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
Dementia is the fourth largest cause of death in people over the age of 70 who live in the United States. Researchers used data from multiple surveys between 2011 and 2019 to create estimates of how much it costs for nonprofessionals to care for dementia. The team also made projections about how costs will trend in the future. (Hint: Costs will double by 2050.)
In 2019, wages lost to informally care for a person with dementia totalled $58 billion. But if people used health aides instead of stepping up to care for a family member or loved one, that would have cost $230 billion. The cost of nonprofessional caregiving (that would have otherwise been paid to a professional) was $42,422 per person and wages lost were $10,677 per case.
Another recent study found that direct spending on dementia in the US was $79.2 billion in 2016. The authors of the current study said it was $195 billion and that it included costs that would have been spent on professional care and wages lost by informal caregivers.
It’s not easy to classify how much, exactly, care costs because there are different variables per state. The most expensive state for dementia care based on replacement cost (what would have gone to a home health aide) was Kentucky at 2.5 times higher than Washington, DC, which was the least expensive state. When the team looked at wages gone, West Virginia was the most expensive state, as it was 2.8 times more expensive than Washington, DC. The differences were largely attributed to care hours.
“Per-case indirect costs are relatively low in high-income states such as Washington, DC, Connecticut and Maryland, which may reflect a heavier reliance on formal (paid) care in these states,” the authors wrote.If trends continue the way they are, replacement costs are expected to grow to $404 billion each year in 2050, the authors noted. The authors said that disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease could change the care needs of people in the future, especially when it comes to those receiving informal care from family members and friends.
