The Real Costs of Alzheimer's Care

According to sites such as Alz.org, the costs associated with Alzheimer's will range between 200 billion and 310 billion dollars over the next decade.  Mind-numbing.

These dollar amounts project direct costs for nearly 5 million people in the US currently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

For the sake of our little math problem, we will say that in 2016, the direct costs for those 5 million people were $250 billion. That is billion - with a B.  BILLION.

Wait a minute while I try to find the calculator app on my phone... Wait, my calculator app on my phone won't go to the billions.  Hold on.  I will try old-fashioned math.

Nope... got a Ph.D., but struggling to keep track of all those zeroes.  Hold on - I have another idea.

Okay - got it.  That's $50K per Alzheimer's patient yearly, right?

Wait - no - that CANNOT be right.

Paul is not even in Assisted Living right now I in order to live - to keep up with his care needs, I have to try to earn around $100K per year.  That is just to survive, folks - not to thrive.

And, Paul has medical insurance and prescription drug coverage.

How does this add up.  Most literature about Alzheimer's disease care and Assisted Living estimates between $65K and $90K per year - so why is this estimated cost so low?

Oh - I get it.  We are free. We caregivers.  Right, we come free of charge.  At least that is what society tends to think.

Yep, click on those websites again - such as the Alz.org site.

Are you one of those 15.9 million caregivers?  Are you putting in some of those 18.1 Billion free hours of caregiving for a person with Alzheimer's disease?  Are you saving our nation's insurance companies part of the $221 BILLION dollars in free care?

I doubt they are sending you a THANK YOU CARD.  So I will...

Thank you.  I know this is really hard work.  You worry.  You are tired.  You injure yourself sometimes just trying to move your loved one.  You get spat at, yelled at, blamed, and picked on - by the person for whom you are providing care, nonetheless.  Then, other loved ones criticize how you provide care or when you provide care or ignore the fact the burden is on you.   You forget to pick up your own medication from the pharmacy, but you always remember the meds for your loved one. You eat fast food.  You miss activities with your friends.  You forgot how to date.  You missed your class reunion.  You stopped dreaming about your life and started worrying about your loved one's next day. I see you.  You are valuable.  You need time.  You deserve to get compensated for your work.  And - you deserve a medal!  You matter.  You are worth more than to be ignored.  You are a good person. You will survive this.  I am with you.  I don't know how to fix this.  But it deserves to be fixed. THANK YOU!