Judging by the headlines, you could easily think that the general elections were mere weeks away. This steady drumbeat of candidate coverage got me thinking: What would happen if we paid this much attention to a pressing health issue that affects millions of Americans, like Alzheimer’s disease?
As it turns out, I’m not alone in this thinking. In fact, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist agrees. In a recent article in Forbes, Senator Frist called on the 2016 presidential hopefuls to make Alzheimer’s and other dementias a top health care priority in their campaigns. Here are a few reasons why this idea could make a huge difference:
The Numbers Are Growing – Diagnoses will continue to climb during our next commander in chief’s time in office. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, nearly 7.1 million Americans will have the disease by 2025. Put another way, if our next president serves two terms in office they will govern a population with an additional 2 million diagnoses of Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
Politics Can Accelerate Progress – While collaborative efforts, like the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP), may speed up the drug development process, discovery takes time. Researchers have worked for years to find ways to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but they need adequate funding and a policy framework to support them. To put it in perspective, bringing a new medicine to market typically takes 12 years. With a robust policy framework, backing from the executive branch and funding that supports initiatives like AMP, progress may come much sooner.
An Economic Impact – A dwindling window of time may not motivate many politicians, but increased spending very well could. This year, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $226 billion. Medicare and Medicaid will foot the bill for $154 billion of those costs – a significant fact for a presidential hopeful seeking to shape our nation’s budget.
As Senator Frist points out, both Congress and President Obama have started to take action with existing and proposed legislation, including the National Alzheimer’s Project Act and HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. We should not overlook these important steps and we cannot stop there. All candidates can support taking aggressive action to fight Alzheimer’s disease. We can’t afford otherwise.
