A recent study found in the last five years of life, the cost of care for a dementia patient far outweighs the cost of caring for patients with heart disease and cancer, other leading killers in the U.S., according to The New York Times.
The study is based on data from the federal Health and Retirement Survey, Medicare and the National Death Index.
Here are five things to know about the cost of dementia, as presented by The New York Times.
1. Care for the average dementia patient comes with a $287,038 price tag in the last five years of life, according to the report. For heart disease it is $175,136 and for cancer it is $173,383.
2. The average out-of-pocket cost for a dementia patient is $61,522. This is 80 percent greater than out-of-pocket costs for those with heart disease or cancer, according to the report.
3. Researchers said the reason dementia costs are so high is many of the expenses are not covered by Medicare, which tends to cover office visits, acute care, surgery and other concrete services. Dementia patients need constant care, but it may not always need to be in a nursing home or hospital.
4. When this care is provided in a nursing home, health insurance usually does not cover it for dementia patients, who spend their savings until Medicaid kicks in, according to the report.
5. The report also notes the cost of caring for a dementia patient cannot always be measured. In some households, a family member becomes the caretaker often at the expense of their own work and income.
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