It would seem, based on polling trends, that the majority of U.S. citizens want Congress and the President to step in to cover the cost of Alzheimer’s drugs. This issue highlights the flaws in the U.S. healthcare market model.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has indicated it will continue to refuse to cover an entire class of FDA-approved therapies for early Alzheimer’s except for treatments provided through a very narrowly constructed clinical study.
There’s currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But there is medicine available that can temporarily reduce the symptoms. There are two types of medications approved to treat Alzheimer’s: those that can temporarily ease some symptoms, and those that can slow the progression of the disease.
The poll was conducted May 1-7, 2023, using professional telephone interviewers and the leading outcome suggests that nearly nine in ten voters favour (87 percent) requiring Medicare to cover the cost of U.S. FDA-approved drugs that indicate they can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (provided the symptoms are detected sufficiently early).
There is also a political dimension to the findings, with 63 percent of voters expressing strong agreement with the statement that President Biden should step in and require Medicare to cover FDA-approved drugs and therapies that can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
This is based on a poll conducted by Lake Research Partners and Public Opinion Strategies. The poll was commissioned by four Alzheimer’s patient advocacy groups: the LEAD Coalition, the Alliance for Aging Research, the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.
The LEAD Coalition seeks to mobilize an engaged network of collaborating organizations to focus the nation’s attention on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and to accelerate transformational progress.
In addition, the polling data shows that almost two-thirds of those surveyed (at 63 percent) are concerned that they, or a friend, or family member, could proceed to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
One reason for the high polling may relate to the nature of the disease and its societal impact. Neil Newhouse, partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies says: “Alzheimer’s is personal for most Americans — more than half say they know someone who has had the disease, and they are deeply concerned about whether they’ll develop it. As a result, Americans strongly support requiring Medicare to cover FDA-approved treatments for the disease.”
