Treating Dementia Is Most Costly
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - There are certain conditions in health care that are the most expensive to treat. It is usually a combination of how many people they effect and how complicated they are to manage that raises the costs.
You might think that heart disease or cancer cost the most. In actuality, the most expensive condition to treat is dementia. It costs the health care system somewhere between $157-$215 billion dollars each year.
Researchers estimate that most of the costs are not from medication or treatment; rather, about 80% of these costs are due to nursing home care or home care.
The news does not get any better. Due to our aging population the costs of dementia could double by 2040 if disease treatment does not improve.