Dementia will cost US $818B this year: Study

Healthcare Dementia will cost US $818B this year: Study Comments: by Josie Fischels - 06/30/26 9:39 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Josie Fischels - 06/30/26 9:39 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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(NewsNation) — Dementia will cost the U.S. $818 billion this year, according to a new study.

Research shows that bill will be mostly footed by unpaid caregivers, not the government.

About 5.7 million Americans are living with dementia, including 5.1 million who are 65 or older — another 5.2 million people are caring for them without pay.

The research, published last week by the Alzheimer’s Association, found individuals and families are shouldering more than three times the cost that falls on health systems and government programs.

The research puts a $320 billion value on the financial toll dementia takes on daily life, including declining independence, memory and function.

Caregivers also absorb another $15 billion in stress-related expenses from the emotional and physical strain of caregiving. Family members and friends put in 6.8 billion hours of care this year, worth an estimated $237 billion. People with dementia and their unpaid caregivers also gave up a combined $23 billion in wages they otherwise would have earned.

Medical and long-term care costs, including doctor visits and nursing homes, add up to $222 billion. Medicare and Medicaid cover about 70 percent of that, or $154 billion. Families pay roughly 20 percent, or $46 billion, out of their own pockets.

Julie Zissimopoulos, the study’s lead researcher, said the dementia population is set to grow substantially.

“By providing annual, comprehensive and transparent estimates of dementia’s total costs, our research can help guide decisions about how to allocate resources,” she told USC Mann’s School of Pharmacy.

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