Alzheimer's disease and managed care: a convincing case for action.

More than 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease (AD), and practitioners diagnose at least 400,000 news cases eachyear. Although the disease accounts for $24.6 billion in direct costs annually, it also generaites an additional $36.5 billion in indirect costs, including those attributed to lost productivityand absenteeism of caregivers for persons with AD. The increasing prevalence of AD will affect health plans with Medicare Advantage plans, as well as Medicare itself. Managed care faces challenges, both now and in the future, to deal with the effects of the disease.