The three most deadly diseases for Americans are heart disease, cancer and dementia.
When researchers sought to uncover which of these diseases was most expensive, they came up with a surprising answer.
A study out of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York revealed that the out-of-pocket annual cost of care for a dementia patient was, on average, 80 percent higher than for patients with cancer and heart disease.
Recommended For You
The hard number: $61,522, according to the survey.
That's because dementia patients need more personal care than do patients with other disorders who are covered by Medicare. While Medicare does cover many patient costs, it doesn't cover personal care — and that's where dementia patients run up their bills.
Dr. Amy S. Kelley, a geriatrician at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York and the lead author of the study, said dementia care "consumed almost [the patient's] entire household wealth."
When patients transition to a nursing facility, they tend to go through whatever savings they have, since nursing home treatment isn't a Medicare benefit.
The study showed that this syndrome fell especially hard on racial minorities, three-quarters of whom go through all their savings at the nursing home stage. Medicaid then steps in to cover the costs — once all the money is gone.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
