Report Finds 5.3 Million (and Counting) Have Alzheimer’s

The Alzheimer’s
Association stated in a
new report last week that the number of U.S. residents with
Alzheimer’s disease is increasing annually — and increasing
pressure on the nation’s health system. Compared with people aged
65 and older without Alzheimer’s, those with the mind-destroying
disease are hospitalized more often, treated in skilled-nursing
centers and often require Medicare-covered home health care. That
means $33,007 in annual costs per patient, compared with $10,603
for an older person without Alzheimer’s, according to the report.
The numbers are based on 2004 data and include average per-person
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance costs. They don’t,
however, include the 8.5 billion hours of unpaid care performed by
nearly 10 million caregivers. With a new case every 70 seconds,
doctors now expect to diagnose a half-million new cases every year.
Read the full
2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report.