Fighting Alzheimer’s Shouldn’t be a Bureaucratic Battle

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating fatal disease, causing progressive damage that steadily erodes memory, thinking, and daily functioning. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia – an overall term for a group of neurological conditions affecting cognition, memory, communication, problem-solving, and concentration – that involves specific brain changes, including the excessive accumulation of the protein beta-amyloid and tau proteins.

Today, approximately 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s. The societal burden of this disease is staggering; in 2025 alone, the total cost of dementia in the U.S. will hit $781 billion. Dementia requires direct medical and long-term care costs for families, as well as approximately 6.8 billion hours of unpaid caregiving by family members and friends to people living with these diseases. 

Fortunately, recent and ongoing research has shown promise. Medical progress has given us an opportunity to slow disease progression – and one day, could help do so even before symptoms appear.

Yet despite the growing promise and treatments currently available to slow the disease, Americans battling Alzheimer’s continue to face enormous hurdles that block access to timely, effective care. These challenges begin with delayed diagnoses and extend through treatment, with disproportionate impacts on underserved communities.

One of the most significant barriers today stems from Medicare’s decision to restrict access to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s therapies by requiring enrollment in cumbersome coverage with evidence development (CED) registries. While meant to support research, conditioning Medicare coverage on participating in research creates administrative quagmires. For patients, their loved ones and caregivers these delays are more than just frustrating – they’re dangerous. Each day, an estimated 3,000 people with Alzheimer’s may progress beyond the reach of early-stage treatment.

The process patients and their physicians must navigate --ranging from an often lengthy journey to diagnosis to insurance hurdles all along the way -- highlights the added and unnecessary barriers to care. This approach not only threatens current access but sets a precedent for future therapies, potentially deterring innovation and investment in the Alzheimer’s space.

It’s time for policymakers to act. Washington can clear the path for Alzheimer’s disease. We must streamline access to treatments already deemed safe and effective. It’s time to shift the focus from red tape to real solutions – for the millions of Americans who can’t afford to wait.