Disaggregating the dementia monolith: An analysis of variation in Medicare costs and use by dementia subtype

With an aging population, it is necessary to systematically examine variation in costs and use of Medicare services by dementia subtype. We provide the first national estimates for dementia by subtype, and the respective Medicare costs and use.

We analyzed Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims from 2017 through 2019. The sample included 41 million beneficiaries: 727,700 beneficiaries with a new dementia diagnosis in 2017. We calculated descriptive statistics and conducted generalized linear regression models by subtype of dementia.

Annual Medicare costs for beneficiaries with dementia ranged from $22,840 for frontotemporal dementia to $44,896 for vascular dementia compared to $9,034 for beneficiaries without dementia. Comparing beneficiaries across dementia subtypes, the greatest differences were in the use of home health and hospice care.

These analyses demonstrate substantial heterogeneity across dementia subtypes, which will be important in developing models of care that improve value for people with dementia.