Study: Dementia tops cancer, heart disease in cost
Source: AP-Excite
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
Cancer and heart disease are bigger killers, but Alzheimer's is the most expensive malady in the U.S., costing families and society $157 billion to $215 billion a year, according to a new study that looked at this in unprecedented detail.
The biggest cost of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia isn't drugs or other medical treatments, but the care that's needed just to get mentally impaired people through daily life, the nonprofit RAND Corp.'s study found.
It also gives what experts say is the most reliable estimate for how many Americans have dementia - around 4.1 million. That's less than the widely cited 5.2 million estimate from the Alzheimer's Association, which comes from a study that included people with less severe impairment.
"The bottom line here is the same: Dementia is among the most costly diseases to society, and we need to address this if we're going to come to terms with the cost to the Medicare and Medicaid system," said Matthew Baumgart, senior director of public policy at the Alzheimer's Association.
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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130403/DA5EBHG80.html
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Witnessing my relatives having dementia and knowing that I'll have it someday just scares the living s*** out of me. 
no more hiring people with dementia in the family, extra insurance premiums for them. I guess we don't have to charge extra for them to fly, but forced retirment at 40 seems in order. Can't have them forgetting things at work and possibily costing the company 2 cents a month in lost productivity.
