Where is the support for Alzheimer’s patients? | READER COMMENTARY

More than 6 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, and this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050. Unfortunately, this disease adds to health inequities. Individuals of Hispanic heritage are one and a half times more likely than white people, and Black Americans are two times more likely than non-Hispanic white people, to have Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.

In fact, by 2030, nearly 40% of all Americans living with Alzheimer’s will be Black or Latinx. African-American and Latino families are carrying an economic burden of billions of dollars annually for medical, caregiving and long-term care costs associated with Alzheimer’s (“Study: Baltimore ranks among jurisdictions with highest Alzheimer’s disease prevalence,” July 19).

Even though the latest science demonstrates significant promise in addressing the disease in its early stages, Medicare — in an apparent attempt to reduce its own costs — is standing in the way of patients. Despite several stakeholders weighing in and approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a new innovative class of Alzheimer’s treatments, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is refusing to reconsider its national coverage determination, severely limiting access.

Sadly, this decision fits into a pattern we’ve seen with Alzheimer’s. It’s a disease that is not treated with the seriousness that other illnesses receive. If this was a breakthrough cancer treatment, it’s safe to assume the media coverage and external pressure to ensure patient access would be significant. Too many outside the Alzheimer’s community assume this disease is simply part of the aging process, that it isn’t fatal and that patient care does not require a tremendous amount of time and resources. Not only is this false, but it’s also insulting to those battling Alzheimer’s from the earliest signs of the disease and those who devote their lives to care for them. Imagine telling someone with stage 1 cancer that they should wait until things get worse before they can access treatments.

Put simply, the Alzheimer’s community — whether due to misunderstandings about the nature of the disease or presumed costs associated with it — are victims of systemic discrimination. If policymakers at CMS are to live up to their rhetoric about eliminating health disparities and achieving health equity, they must ensure access to approved treatments. They must put a stop to the ongoing discrimination against a group of people who are already suffering. They must help to protect this nation’s citizens against the risk of death, disability, and debilitating illness. They must reconsider coverage for these critical treatments.

We have the capacity today to change health outcomes for millions of Alzheimer’s patients for the better, so why aren’t we?

— Marvell Adams Jr., Washington, D.C.

The writer is chief executive officer of the Caregiver Action Network.

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