My mom's long-term care has cost almost $400,000. This is after we spent $45,000 converting a guest house on our property for her. - Business Insider

What the report says

Business Insider reported the account of Alison George, a 52-year-old Raleigh resident who said her family has spent heavily to care for her mother, who has late-stage dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. George told the outlet that her mother’s room and board at two memory-care facilities has totaled about $389,000 since 2021, not including medications, copays, therapy and other care. Before that, George and her husband spent about $45,000 converting a guest house on their property so her mother could live nearby.

According to the Business Insider interview, George and her two sisters have coordinated care for both parents. Her father, who had Lewy body dementia, died in 2023 after his condition worsened. Her mother, a former elementary school teacher, first moved into the converted unit, then to an independent living facility in early 2019 that cost $2,400 a month. After a hospitalization in 2020 linked to missed medications, she returned to George’s property with family support.

George said her mother entered memory care in July 2021, at a facility costing about $7,800 a month, and remained there until January 2025, when savings no longer covered the cost. She then moved to a lower-cost facility where private-pay care is about $5,500 a month. George said her mother’s $4,000 monthly income and savings currently help cover the expense, but the family estimates the money may last only another 24 to 30 months.

The case illustrates the financial strain many U.S. families face when relatives need long-term dementia care, especially without long-term care insurance. Business Insider framed George’s story around the fear and difficult decisions that can accompany caregiving, facility placement and the depletion of family savings.