10 Million Baby Boomers Face Alzheimer's, Report Predicts

(Page 2)

Medicare currently spends more than three times as much money on people with Alzheimer's and other dementias than it does for the average Medicare recipient. In 2005, Medicare spent $91 billion on people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. By 2010, that number is expected to climb to $160 billion, and by 2015, to $189 billion annually, according to the report.

These high Medicare costs occur because Alzheimer's tends to complicate the treatment of other medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, McConnell said. Also, while people with Alzheimer's live an average of eight years, they can live more than 20 years, placing an additional strain on the health-care system.

The projected rise in Alzheimer's cases will also burden the long-term care system, McConnell said. "Right now, it's mostly families providing care at home, but most people with Alzheimer's disease end up in a nursing home or an assisted living facility," he said. "In fact, three-quarters of people with Alzheimer's will die in such a facility."

Complicating matters, long-term care isn't covered by most regular health insurance, and most people don't have long-term care insurance, McConnell said. "That's going to have a devastating impact on society," he said.

Still, McConnell said there's hope for new treatments for Alzheimer's, but it's going to take a lot more money for research and testing to make those hopes a reality.

There seems to be a connection between Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease, McConnell said. Diet, exercise and blood-pressure control may help stave off cognitive decline and Alzheimer's, he said.

Also, new drugs being tested "show promise in altering the course of the disease," McConnell said.

"Eventually, this disease could be preventable. It's certainly a disease we hope will be manageable if we catch it early," McConnell said. "If we are just able to slow the progression of the disease and delay its onset, it could save many millions of people from having to deal with the consequences of the disease. And it could save billions of dollars in the health-care system."