The following guest post was written by Robert Egge, vice president of public policy at the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Alzheimer’s Association 2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report reveals that care costs for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the United States will total an estimated $200 billion this year, including $140 billion paid by Medicare and Medicaid. Costs are projected to soar to $1.1 trillion in 2050 – and this is in today’s dollars. In this timeframe, combined Medicare and Medicaid spending on people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will increase 500 percent.

These figures show that addressing the Alzheimer’s crisis is not only critical for the millions of families affected, but for the health and economy of the nation. We can’t afford Alzheimer’s now and we certainly won’t be able to afford it if this disease continues on its current path.

An estimated 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s – a devastating progressive neurodegenerative disease that today has no way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. The number of people with the disease could grow to as many as 16 million people by the middle of the century.

As demonstrated by the new cost figures, Alzheimer’s and other dementias are significant drivers of health care spending. The new report reveals that Medicare payments for an older person with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are nearly three times more than for seniors without these conditions. Medicaid payments are 19 times higher.

Nearly 30 percent of people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia are on both Medicare and Medicaid and these dual-eligibles are high consumers of health and long-term care services. Most people with Alzheimer’s have one or more other serious chronic conditions, and their cognitive impairment often complicates the management of these other conditions. The result: more hospitalizations and higher costs. A person with diabetes and Alzheimer’s costs Medicare 81 percent more than a senior with just diabetes and a senior with cancer and Alzheimer’s costs 53 percent more than one who has cancer only. Adding Alzheimer’s to the equation adds significantly to health care costs primarily because an individual’s cognitive impairment can interfere with and undermine the management of these other health issues.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that preys on a person’s memories, independence, autonomy and eventually life. While there are more than 5 million Americans living with the disease, there more than 15 million friends and family members providing care for them – an unpaid care valued at $210 billion. A solid commitment now can be a critical weapon in changing the trajectory of this devastating disease – a disease that affects not only the individual living with it, but their friends and family as well.

As challenging as the disease is for people with Alzheimer’s and friends and family who care for them, the difficulties are even more daunting for people who have Alzheimer’s and live alone. The new Facts and Figures report found that 800,000 people with Alzheimer’s in the United States – more than one in seven –live alone. Perhaps even more troublesome is that up to half of them do not have an identifiable caregiver. People with Alzheimer’s who live alone are at greater risk of poor health than those who live with others, including missed or delayed diagnosis, malnutrition, and untreated medical conditions.

The Obama Administration is currently developing the first National Alzheimer’s Plan in our country’s history. After its passage by Congress on a unanimous, bipartisan basis, the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) was signed into law by President Obama on January 4, 2011. Over the past year, Americans affected by Alzheimer’s made impassioned demands for decisive action during the Alzheimer’s Association nationwide public input campaign. These individuals who live on the frontlines of Alzheimer’s are eagerly waiting to see if the federal government’s commitment to solving this crisis is equal to the magnitude of the crisis.

We must align the vision, goals, strategies, expertise and resources from across the federal government and the Alzheimer’s community to create a fundamentally new approach to research, care and supportive services for families. With an aging nation, we must find the treatments that, at a minimum, delay the disease’s progression or onset, and, in time, find those that prevent or cure it altogether. Even delaying onset of the disease or slowing its progression by just five years could result in dramatic savings to the country and improved quality of life for millions of families.

We must create a future where Alzheimer’s disease is no longer a death sentence but a manageable, treatable, preventable, or curable disease that affects far fewer people – people who will be able to lead productive and meaningful lives. To create this world, we need a strong, comprehensive national plan with the commitment to implement it.

A full copy of the report can be found at alz.org/facts