Jay Reinstein didn't know he had Alzheimer's when he bought a BMW he couldn't afford. Neither did his wife, who was left confused and frustrated by a decision that seemed to come out of nowhere. What looked like a reckless mistake was actually an early warning sign that their financial life was already quietly unraveling. Writing in the Washington Times Charles Sauer puts a human face on a crisis hiding in plain sight across America.

From the Washington Times, by Charles Sauer:

"People who develop Alzheimer's or related dementias show measurable financial decline in the five years before diagnosis. This means that by the time many patients receive a diagnosis, their money missteps have already been compounding for years, threatening their long-term financial stability."

"Lifetime medical and caregiving costs for an Alzheimer's patient are around $400,000, and families shoulder 70% of that cost. That is a lot of money for most Americans, and the financial mistakes in the years leading up to diagnosis put these families at greater financial risk."

"New research shows that credit scores fall steadily as cognitive function declines. One year before diagnosis, people are about 17% more likely to be delinquent on their mortgage payments and about 34% more likely to miss credit card bills."

"The good news is that diagnostic advances enable doctors to detect Alzheimer's before severe symptoms set in. New blood-based biomarker tests can identify the disease with about 90% accuracy."

"Jay Reinstein says he was fortunate. He received the diagnosis shortly after the uncharacteristic BMW purchase, and he had a government pension and a spouse who could take part in the planning process. Many others do not have that support. These are the patients whose financial futures could be saved by their primary care physician administering a simple cognitive test early."

Charles Sauer's piece in the Washington Times makes a compelling case that waiting too long to diagnose Alzheimer's isn't just a medical failure — it's a financial one. Read the full commentary here.

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