NEWT GINGRICH: Alzheimer’s is waging a war on millions. Congress could help us win it
Roughly one-in-nine Americans age 65 and older suffer from dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. This represents about 7.2 million people, according to the National Institutes of Health. Chances are, you know someone among them.
Alzheimer’s is a thief. It steals memories, identities, independence and, ultimately, it takes lives. It is the sixth-leading cause of death in America, but the loss extends far beyond the person diagnosed. Spouses become full-time caregivers. Adult children rearrange their lives and careers. Friends grieve someone who is still there but no longer themselves. When you account for all those affected — partners, children, siblings, close friends — the 7.2 million people living with Alzheimer’s become 25 to 50 million Americans whose lives are shaped by this disease.
This is where our current troubles manifest. While our efforts in the early 2000s and 2010s have provided great leaps in dealing with Alzheimer’s, further advancements are being blocked by our misguided, broken approach to healthcare policy.
In 2007, I co-chaired the Alzheimer’s Study Group. It was a bipartisan blue-ribbon task force convened to investigate and seek solutions to Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive illnesses.
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As part of our work, we called for an Alzheimer’s Solutions Project focused on identifying the cause or causes of Alzheimer’s — and supporting the development of a cure. In our final report, we called for a strategic plan to fully fund NIH and other programs to fight the disease, and many of our recommendations were unanimously adopted by Congress in the National Alzheimer’s Project Act of 2011.
The legislation had the stated goal of finding a cure by 2025. Unfortunately, we didn't reach that goal, but the research produced real breakthroughs. We now know that Alzheimer's stems from a buildup of amyloid proteins in the brain, and that related tau proteins in the blood can serve as early warning signs that are detectable before any symptoms appear.
Diagnostics companies have developed blood tests to identify these markers and infusion treatments to reduce amyloid buildup. While these aren’t direct cures, as with many diseases, early detection can help people make important lifestyle changes and begin therapies that could slow the progression of symptoms from mild memory and thinking issues to debilitating dementia.
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This could mean delaying the need for institutional care for years. In addition to helping people lead longer, happier and more independent lives — which is the most important impact — delaying symptoms can also save families tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) of dollars spent on in-home care or assisted living.
So why are so many families not getting them? The blood tests, which would be key for early detection of Alzheimer’s, are covered by Medicare only if used to confirm a diagnosis after someone first complains of symptoms. They are not covered by Medicare if used to detect symptoms before they become bad enough for someone to complain. This means people often get diagnosed too late to qualify for therapies.
The infusion treatments aren’t covered unless a patient’s doctor participates in a Medicare-approved registry. Many providers, especially in rural areas, don’t have the capacity to take on this additional burden.
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What’s worse, these roadblocks to treating and curing Alzheimer’s disease are simply symptoms of the larger sicknesses of our healthcare system. We don’t deal with diseases until people are already sick — often quite sick.
We need a new nationwide effort to cure Alzheimer’s and other degenerative diseases. If we continue with the current broken approach, these problems are projected to get much worse. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that without significant treatments, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s could nearly double to 13.8 million by 2060.
The path forward starts with concrete action on Alzheimer’s now. Congress should pass the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act of 2025 (the ASAP Act) to require Medicare coverage of tau protein blood tests, allowing millions of Americans to detect the disease before they notice symptoms.
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Also, Medicare should revisit its 2022 national coverage determination and establish a straightforward Medicare coverage pathway for FDA-approved Alzheimer's therapies, consistent with how every other approved drug class is treated. These two steps alone could extend quality of life, delay the need for institutional care and save families from enormous financial hardship.
Increasing access to these treatments could potentially improve people’s lives — and such efforts are deeply popular. A new poll released May 19 shows strong support for the ASAP Act and efforts to increase access to new Alzheimer’s treatments.
In the words of my favorite Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Tackling Alzheimer’s with the urgency it demands will not only address a looming public health crisis — it will also begin the larger project of reforming our entire healthcare approach toward prevention. If we can summon the political will to act on this disease, just imagine how many others we could conquer.
Disclaimer: Gingrich 360 works with various companies in the healthcare industry which could be affected by healthcare policy reforms.