Home › Research › Costs & economics
What this disease costs, who carries the cost, and how those totals are arrived at. Most of the famous headline figures are model outputs — every one of them is labelled here.
If you are working out what your own family will pay, the practical version of this page is legal and financial planning. This page is the underlying research.
How to read the labels: Measured counted, surveyed or written in law. Modelled estimate produced by a statistical model — an estimate, not a count. Basis not stated the source did not say which.
155 of the 211 records behind this page are model estimates, not measurements. They are produced by statistical models — projections, small-area estimates such as CDC PLACES, Global Burden of Disease figures, pooled meta-analyses, or cost models. A model estimate can be the best number available and still be wrong for any particular person, county or year.
Each one carries a Modelled estimate label where it appears.
Who this covers: Americans age 65+ with Alzheimer's or other dementias
Does not include value of informal caregiving. Journal citation: Alzheimers Dement 2026;22, doi:10.1002/alz.71345.
Who this covers: US adults >70 with dementia
Lower bound $157B (forgone-wages valuation). Historical comparator for the Facts and Figures $409B (2026) figure; different methods (attributable vs all-cause costs).
Who this covers: 55.2 million people with dementia worldwide
Direct medical $213.2B (16%), direct social sector incl. Long-term care $448.7B (34%), informal care $651.4B (50%). 74% of costs occur in high-income countries.
Who this covers: People with dementia worldwide
35% increase since 2010; 86% of costs in high-income countries.
Who this covers: People with dementia worldwide
95% UI $199-333B. Total health spending on patients with dementia (all causes) $594B (95% UI $457-843B). Grew 4.5%/yr 2000-2019.
Who this covers: Americans age 65+ with Alzheimer's or other dementias
Source wording: 'just under $1 trillion in 2050 (in 2026 dollars)', from $409B in 2026; value recorded as the stated ceiling. Excludes effect of approved anti-amyloid drugs. Projection includes 2.4-fold increases in Medicare/Medicaid spending and in out-of-pocket expenses.
Who this covers: Americans age 65+ with Alzheimer's or other dementias
2026 dollars.
Who this covers: People with ADRD worldwide
Who this covers: People with ADRD worldwide
95% uncertainty bound $11.3T-$27.3T. 2030: $4.7T; 2040: $8.5T. LMICs would carry 65% of the 2050 burden vs 18% in 2019.
Who this covers: People with dementia worldwide
95% UI $0.9-2.6T; would be 11% (6-18%) of all health spending, up to 17% under alternative scenarios.
Who this covers: Traditional (fee-for-service) Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with dementia
Inflated to 2025 dollars. Unadjusted for age/sex. Comparison group without dementia: $15,499. Includes community-dwelling and residential-care beneficiaries.
Who this covers: Traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ without dementia
Inflated to 2025 dollars.
Who this covers: Traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with dementia
In 2025 dollars. Without dementia: $8,371.
Who this covers: Traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with dementia
In 2025 dollars. Without dementia: $322.
Who this covers: Traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with dementia
In 2025 dollars. HMO $2,063; uncompensated $203; other payer $987 for the dementia group.
Who this covers: Simulated representative US incident dementia cases
Families incurred 70% ($225,140), Medicaid 14% ($44,090), Medicare 16% ($52,540). Incremental cost vs no dementia $184,500 (86% borne by families). Annual cost peaked at $89,000. Facts and Figures 2026 restates as $417,263 in 2025 dollars.
Show all 12 records (6 shown so far)
Who this covers: Olmsted County MN residents age 70-89 (Mayo Clinic Study of Aging)
Single-county population; dollar year not stated in abstract (publication 2015).
Who this covers: Olmsted County MN residents age 70-89 (Mayo Clinic Study of Aging)
Difference from cognitively normal not statistically significant.
Who this covers: Olmsted County MN residents age 70-89 (Mayo Clinic Study of Aging)
Who this covers: Olmsted County MN residents age 70-89 (Mayo Clinic Study of Aging)
Hospital inpatient costs were 70% of total for prevalent dementia.
Who this covers: HRS respondents >70 with claims-based incident dementia diagnosis 2000-2016, severity modelled from ADAMS CDR
Rose from $3,192 the quarter before (+166%). Outpatient spending in quarter of diagnosis, mild stage: $4,498. Dollar year and full-year totals not in the source text we have.
Who this covers: HRS respondents >70 with incident dementia diagnosis 2000-2016
From $2,534 the quarter before (+248%). Outpatient: $2,028 to $3,979 (+96%).
Show all 7 records (6 shown so far)
Who this covers: Original Medicare beneficiaries
Coinsurance paid out-of-pocket unless covered by Medigap, Medicaid (dual eligibles) or a Medicare Advantage plan's cost-sharing rules. 2026 Part B deductible $283; standard Part B premium $202.90/month (Medicare.gov).
Who this covers: Original Medicare beneficiaries
Standard Part B premium 2026: $202.90/month.
Who this covers: Original Medicare beneficiaries without Medigap/Medicaid
Range $0 (dual-eligible Medicaid pays or Medigap covers) to $6,636. Total per-patient cost incl. Coinsurance $26,544.72 + ancillary.
Who this covers: Americans age 65+ with Alzheimer's or other dementias
25% of $409B total.
Who this covers: Americans age 65+ with Alzheimer's or other dementias
Who this covers: Traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with dementia
In 2025 dollars. Includes Medicare/other-insurance deductibles, copays, premiums and uncovered services. Without dementia: $2,674.
Who this covers: Traditional Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ without dementia
In 2025 dollars.
Who this covers: People with Alzheimer's dementia
Comparison: 7% for people without Alzheimer's dementia.
Who this covers: People with moderate or severe dementia with any OOP expenditure
$3,010 in 2025 dollars. 71% of moderate and 80% of severe dementia had OOP costs in prior year; 21% of severe dementia had OOP costs >40% of post-subsistence income; 12% fell below federal poverty level after OOP costs.
Show all 8 records (6 shown so far)
Who this covers: US nursing home residents (all causes)
$355/day; $10,798/month. Up 1% from 2024. Not dementia-specific.
Who this covers: US nursing home residents (all causes)
$315/day; $9,581/month; up 2% from 2024 ($9,277/month).
Who this covers: US assisted living residents (all causes)
$6,200/month, up 5% from $5,900 in 2024. Memory-care premium not broken out on this page.
Who this covers: US home care (all causes)
Up 3% year over year. Skilled nursing in the home $90/hour. Facts and Figures 2026 cites the 2024 survey: home health aide $34/hr, $6,483/month; adult day services $100/day.
Who this covers: US adult day services users
$104 in 2025 dollars; grew 5.6%/yr 2021-2024 before inflation adjustment.
Who this covers: All Medicaid LTSS users
$212.4B in 2025 dollars. Home- and community-based services 65%, institutional 35%. HCBS share ranges 32% (Mississippi) to 84% (Oregon).
Show all 7 records (6 shown so far)
Who this covers: Medicaid long-term care applicants (individual)
/REGULATORY (effective 1 Jan 2026). Couple $3,000. SSI federal benefit rate $994 individual / $1,491 couple. Income cap (300% FBR) $2,982/month. States using 209(b) or medically-needy rules may differ.
Who this covers: Married Medicaid institutional/HCBS applicants
Effective 1 Jan 2026. Minimum resource standard $32,532 (states choose within range).
Who this covers: Married Medicaid institutional/HCBS applicants
Effective 1 Jan 2026.
Who this covers: Medicaid long-term care applicants
Effective 1 Jan 2026. Maximum $1,130,000.
Who this covers: Medicaid long-term care applicants
Effective 1 Jan 2026.
Who this covers: Community spouses of Medicaid LTC beneficiaries
Effective 1 Jan 2026. Minimum MMMNA $2,705 (effective 1 Jul 2026; Alaska $3,381.25, Hawaii $3,111.25). Community spouse monthly housing allowance $811.50.
Show all 9 records (6 shown so far)
"Value of unpaid caregiving" means the hours families give, priced as if they had been bought. No money changes hands. It is included because leaving it out makes the real cost look far smaller than it is.
Who this covers: 12.7 million unpaid dementia caregivers
19.6 billion hours valued at the average of the state minimum wage and the median hourly cost of a home health aide (source calls this conservative). Appendix gives $446.312 billion.
Who this covers: 12.7 million unpaid dementia caregivers
From BRFSS caregiver survey data; appendix gives 19.608 billion hours. Average nearly 30 hours/week or 1,543 hours/year per caregiver.
Who this covers: Unpaid dementia caregivers
Who this covers: Simulated representative US incident dementia cases
Families $225,140 of $321,780 lifetime cost (2015 dollars).
Who this covers: People with dementia worldwide
Informal care valued at US$651.4 billion.
Who this covers: Early Alzheimer's disease (MCI or mild dementia due to AD)
LIST PRICE (WAC), manufacturer-announced. Vial WAC: 200 mg $254.81; 500 mg $637.02. Eisai's own modelled 'societal value' was $37,600/yr. Actual annualized price varies with body weight.
Who this covers: Early Alzheimer's disease
LIST PRICE. 200 mg vial $254.81. Implies about $1.274/mg.
Who this covers: Early Alzheimer's disease (at-home subcutaneous initiation or maintenance)
LIST PRICE (WAC). Subcutaneous initiation dose requires two autoinjectors (500 mg per weekly dose). Eisai states WAC does not reflect what patients pay. Statement is undated in its text but cites the 2026 Facts and Figures 'accessed April 28, 2026', so it dates from 2026 (SC initiation-dose approval).
Who this covers: Early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease
LIST PRICE. Lilly states total cost varies with treatment duration because dosing can stop once amyloid is cleared on PET. Release's 'Course of Therapy Cost' table: 6 months $12,522; 12 months $32,000; 18 months $48,696.
Who this covers: Early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease
LIST PRICE, manufacturer-stated: 13 vials-per-infusion schedule totals $32,000 for 12 months; 6-month course $12,522; 18-month course $48,696 per the release's table. Value here is the 12-month figure.
Who this covers: MCI and mild dementia due to AD, Japan
REGULATED LIST PRICE (NHI). 200 mg vial 45,777 JPY. Implies about 229 JPY/mg. A 2026 Japanese study notes a scheduled 15% lecanemab price reduction effective 1 Nov 2025 (Makita K et al., PMID 42467046). Country: Japan.
Who this covers: Medicare Part B beneficiaries
NET-PRICE PROXY: payment limit = average sales price (net of manufacturer discounts/rebates to purchasers) plus statutory add-on. Coinsurance 20%. Compare WAC ~$1.274/mg (500 mg vial). Derived annual amount at 10 mg/kg biweekly for a 75 kg patient (19,500 mg/yr) would be about $26,540; that derivation is ours, not CMS's.
Who this covers: Medicare Part B beneficiaries
NET-PRICE PROXY (ASP-based). Equals $2.0925/mg, i.e. About $732 per 350 mg vial versus WAC $695.65 (ASP-based limit includes the statutory add-on percentage). Coinsurance 20%.
Who this covers: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries receiving lecanemab in office/non-facility settings
Avg_Mdcr_Alowd_Amt 1.3049; Avg_Mdcr_Pymt_Amt 1.0383 (Medicare's ~80% share; remainder is beneficiary coinsurance). 4,734 beneficiaries and 41.7 million mg in this dataset (excludes hospital outpatient department claims, so not total uptake).
Who this covers: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries receiving donanemab in office/non-facility settings
Avg_Mdcr_Alowd_Amt 4.1615; Avg_Mdcr_Pymt_Amt 3.3157. 1,142 beneficiaries; 978,159 units of 2 mg.
Who this covers: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (all indications; code is used for lecanemab/donanemab infusions)
Medicare payment $98.25 (80%); beneficiary/supplemental coinsurance 20%. Each additional hour (96415): allowed $26.90.
Who this covers: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (all indications; ARIA monitoring scans use this code)
Facility (professional component only) allowed $68.28. Medicare pays 80%.
Who this covers: Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with MCI or mild dementia (HRS 2018 weights)
From 2018 HRS body weights and WAC vial prices, 24 infusions/yr. Medicare 80% share $20,680.55; beneficiary coinsurance $5,170.14.
Who this covers: Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ with MCI or mild dementia
Components (Medicare-approved unit cost x events/yr): amyloid PET 1 x $1,564.88; IV infusion 24 x $133.67; neurology/geriatrics visits 4 x $155.75; routine brain MRI 3 x $445.01; APOE test 1 x $99; ARIA-related extra MRI 0.172/yr; ARIA-related visits 0.172/yr; hospitalization for severe AE 0.027 x $14,700. Ancillary costs raise per-patient total by 28%.
Who this covers: Medicare-eligible adults with MCI or mild dementia (HRS)
5.8% of dispensed drug wasted (1.6 doses/yr). Total annual Medicare waste $133M-$336M at 1.1%-2.9% uptake. Per-unit cost assumed $1.31/mg (WAC + 3%).
Who this covers: Adults with MCI or mild dementia due to AD, APOE4 heterozygous or non-carriers, England
Zero is a real value here: NOT recommended (third negative decision). Reason: cost per QALY substantially exceeded NICE thresholds; NICE manual (PMG36) presents net health benefit at £25,000-£35,000 per QALY. NICE's own ICER figures are commercial-in-confidence. Appeal by Eisai received Oct 2025; appraisal GID-TA11220 still listed 'in progress' when fetched 22 Sep 2026. Country: UK (England/Wales).
Who this covers: Adults with MCI or mild dementia due to AD, England
Zero is a real value: NOT recommended. Delay of mild-to-moderate progression 4-6 months judged too small for purchase + administration + MRI monitoring costs. Country: UK.
Who this covers: MCI or mild dementia due to AD
NICE wording '4-6 months'; lower bound 4. Country: UK.
Who this covers: Medicare beneficiaries with MCI due to AD or mild AD dementia with confirmed amyloid pathology
Effective 7 Apr 2022. Drugs approved on a surrogate endpoint (accelerated approval) covered only in RCTs under IND; drugs approved on clinical benefit (lecanemab traditional approval Jul 2023; donanemab Jul 2024) covered in CMS-approved prospective comparative studies, which may be registries. Use outside such studies is nationally non-covered. Amyloid PET in these studies also meets NCD 220.6.20 CED.
Who this covers: Veterans with MCI or mild dementia due to AD meeting VHA criteria for use
VHA coverage announced March 2023 (two months after accelerated approval), with criteria for use beyond the FDA label. A July 2025 VA San Francisco story states VA covers both lecanemab and donanemab for eligible veterans (https://www.va.gov/san-francisco-health-care/stories/slowing-the-progression-offering-access-and-hope/).
Who this covers: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries
Partial: physician/supplier (Part B professional) claims only; hospital outpatient infusions are in a separate dataset and not included. Donanemab (J0175): 1,142 beneficiaries in the same file.
Who this covers: Medicare beneficiaries with MCI or mild dementia due to AD
95% CI $1.8-2.2B. Upper bound (216,536 patients): $5.1B (95% CI $4.6-5.7B). Assumes 19% attrition; excludes rebates.
Who this covers: Medicare beneficiaries with MCI or mild dementia due to AD
95% CI $4.6-5.7B.
Who this covers: US patients with MCI due to AD or mild AD (1.4 million eligible; 280,000/yr assumed to initiate)
Cumulative per-patient net budget impact ~$27,000 in year 1, ~$104,000 over 5 years at WAC. 9% treatable at $150k/QALY price, 16% at $100k, 59% at $50k.
Who this covers: EU-27 early AD population potentially eligible for lecanemab
Upper-bound scenario; would exceed half of total EU pharmaceutical expenditure. Geography: EU-27 (recorded as 'global' because schema lacks a multi-country region).
A cost-effectiveness ratio — dollars per QALY, a quality-adjusted life year — is not a measurement. It is the output of a model with stated assumptions, and it encodes a judgement about how much a year of reasonable-quality life is worth. Different modellers reach different answers from the same trial.
Who this covers: MCI due to AD or mild AD dementia
Judged against ICER's $100,000-$150,000 per QALY thresholds: NOT cost-effective. Cost per life-year $277,000; per evLY $204,000. Peer-reviewed summary: Wright AC et al. J Manag Care Spec Pharm 2023 (PMID 37610113).
Who this covers: MCI due to AD or mild AD dementia
Threshold $100,000-$150,000/QALY: NOT cost-effective. Per evLY $183,000. If treatment continued until severe AD: $286,000/QALY (health care sector).
Who this covers: MCI due to AD or mild AD dementia
Threshold price. Full HBPB range $8,900-$21,500 (19%-66% discount from $26,500 WAC). Price to reach $150,000/QALY (health care sector) $14,600; $50,000/QALY $3,200; $200,000/QALY $20,300. Excludes 6% provider markup.
Who this covers: MCI due to AD or mild AD dementia
Threshold price; 19% discount from WAC.
Who this covers: MCI or mild dementia due to AD
Conclusion: neither targeted nor unrestricted lecanemab was cost-effective vs standard of care at current price; standard of care alone was optimal. Base-case ICER value is in the full text, which was paywalled; not recorded here. Willingness-to-pay threshold used is stated in the full text (not in abstract).
Who this covers: Early AD (65% MCI, 35% mild dementia), mean age 75
Willingness-to-pay threshold $150,000/QALY: NOT cost-effective. Societal ICER $176,000/QALY. QALY gain 0.408; drug cost $44,600 (dosing stops after amyloid clearance).
Show all 18 records (6 shown so far)
Who this covers: Unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, Alabama (222 thousand caregivers; 396 million hours)
State totals do not sum to US total due to rounding.
Who this covers: Unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, Montana (18 thousand caregivers; 26 million hours)
State totals do not sum to US total due to rounding.
Who this covers: Unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, Alaska (25 thousand caregivers; 40 million hours)
State totals do not sum to US total due to rounding.
Who this covers: Unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, Nebraska (42 thousand caregivers; 63 million hours)
State totals do not sum to US total due to rounding.
Who this covers: Unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, Arizona (242 thousand caregivers; 379 million hours)
State totals do not sum to US total due to rounding.
Who this covers: Unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementias, Nevada (137 thousand caregivers; 226 million hours)
State totals do not sum to US total due to rounding.
Show all 51 records (6 shown so far)
Most national cost totals are modelled (for example, the Alzheimer's Association's figures come from the Lewin Model) and are labelled that way here. Cost-effectiveness ratios (dollars per QALY, a quality-adjusted life year) come from economic models with stated assumptions; they are judgements about value, not measurements.
Every figure on this page is read straight out of a file in our data folder; nothing is typed in by hand. You can download the raw data and check any row yourself. This is a summary of published research, not medical advice.
The highest-scoring studies we hold on this subject, each summarised in plain English. Scores are alzhub's usefulness score, not a verdict on the science.