Baby boomers and Alzheimer’s disease: 28.4 million by 2050

By 2050, the number of baby boomers with Alzheimer’s disease will reach 28.4 million. Lewin research, conducted on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association, shows that without better treatment options, the impact of this trajectory could be devastating.

In 2020, approximately 400,000 baby boomers will have Alzheimer’s. By 2040, that number will climb to 10.3 million. By 2050, that figure is expected to reach 28.4 million.

Based on Lewin research, projected Medicare spending on boomers with Alzheimer’s at $11.9 billion in 2020. By 2040, spending for boomers with Alzheimer’s is expected to reach $294.5 billion. The increase results not only from rising numbers of boomers with Alzheimer’s, but the fact that as these individuals live with the disease over time, the severity of their disease will grow, increasing care/treatment costs.

Finding treatments for Alzheimer’s will become increasingly important as individuals with the disease account for an ever-expanding amount of Medicare spending. The escalating demand Alzheimer’s will place on society over the next two decades adds urgency to the case for more federal research dollars.