The timing of dementia diagnosis can greatly affect overall Medicare health care costs for older adults. Health care costs for older adults whose cognitive impairment was identified through screening did not increase, while those diagnosed while experiencing a health issue saw a 150% increase in Medicare costs.
For individuals who are diagnosed with dementia during treatment for strokes, sepsis, heart failure, urinary tract infections and more, overall Medicare costs increased from about $5,400 in the three months before diagnosis, to nearly $13,800 in the three-month period that included the diagnosis. For individuals whose cognitive impairment was noted . . .
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