United States Estimates of Diagnosed Dementia among Medicare Beneficiaries

The US Dementia Map, developed and maintained by the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory’s Technical Data and Health Care Systems Core, displays the number of Medicare beneficiaries with diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias at the state and hospital referral region levels, as well as at individual hospitals, emergency departments, and skilled nursing facilities. The map provides data on the total Medicare population, beneficiaries with dementia, and key demographic characteristics, including age, sex, race, and dual-eligibility status. These data help researchers identify health care systems that may be well suited for dementia care trials.

The map uses 2023 Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage data for beneficiaries aged 65 and older. Dementia is identified with the Bynum-standard claims algorithm, a validated, conservative definition that identifies people with a documented dementia diagnosis within a single year (McCarthy et al., J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2022; PMID: 34919686).