Health care costs can be reduced by nearly 30 percent if dementia is detected and treated early, according to research revealed at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

The study consisted of evaluating patients in a veterans medical center. Patients who were determined to be afflicted with Alzheimer's received specialized intervention care.

Patients who received specialized care found that their outpatient healthcare costs dropped almost 30 percent after being diagnosed, compared to the year prior to learning they had the disease.

"We see in this study's findings that early diagnosis and case management in dementia may also significantly lower healthcare costs," says Alzheimer's Association senior director of medical and scientific relations Maria Carrillo. "This could have a reverberating positive impact throughout the entire healthcare system."

Patients with dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, may face a long road ahead of them. The disease can rob its victims of precious memories and make it difficult to complete tasks that were once considered an everyday activity.

Since dementia can be a costly disease to live with, it's important for people to have good health insurance to help mitigate the financial burden.