The bill for taking care of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias will reach $200 billion this year in the United States, including $140 billion paid by Medicare and Medicaid, the Alzheimer’s Association said on Thursday.
The group estimated that 800,000 Americans have Alzheimer's and live alone, and as many as half don’t have any set person to help care for them.
"Alzheimer's is already a crisis and it's growing worse with every year," Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, said in a statement. Health officials and policymakers already dread the coming crisis from the disease, which has no cure and no effective treatment.
In its annual report, the Alzheimer’s Association said Medicare payments for a dementia patient than for seniors without Alzheimer's or another dementia. lzheimer's and other dementias are nearly three times higher and Medicaid payments 19 times higher The price tag is 19 times higher for Medicaid patients with dementia.
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