Alzheimer's FDA-approved treatments

In March, Alzheimer’s Association advocates are turning Capitol Hill purple to bring awareness to the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s and ensure that our elected officials keep dementia a priority across the country. While my fellow advocates will be in Washington D.C., I am advocating here in Illinois in honor of my mother, Louise, who passed in October of 2021 from Alzheimer’s. She battled with this disease for 7 ½ years. I was her primary caregiver for the first 3 ½ years in her home. It was extremely difficult to work and have a social life while caring for her full time.

Thanks to bipartisan champions in Congress, we’ve made great progress advancing research on Alzheimer’s and all other dementia, providing hope to families in the midst of a terrible disease. As of January 6, we now have two FDA-approved treatments for the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. However, for the first time ever, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) will not cover these treatments. This decision is unjust and harmful to those living with Alzheimer’s disease. Access to treatment can slow the progression of this fatal disease and give people with Alzheimer’s more time with their loved ones. We need our Members of Congress, including my Representative Lauren Underwood, to join us in urging CMS to reverse their decision immediately. Having a treatment such as this would have meant so much for me and my family. My mom would have been able to meet my husband and stepdaughter and get to know them. She would have been able to see my nephew grow up into the wonderful young man he is becoming. There is not a day that goes by that I do not wish I had more “good” days with her and creating more lifelong memories. Losing a parent is never easy but losing my mom in my 30s did not give me enough time with my role model. As a family we struggled greatly to pay for her medications that she was already on. Adding these FDA approved medications would have not been an option if CMS would not help cover costs of the drugs. Every 65 seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s – and every day more than 2,000 people progress to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer’s, where they are no longer eligible for treatment. Slowly the progress of this disease would be so helpful for more time with loved ones.

I’m asking Illinois lawmakers, including Representative Lauren Underwood to speak up on behalf of their constituents living with Alzheimer’s by urging CMS to remove the barriers on FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments. To learn more about this issue, please visit alzimpact.org.