Healthcare continues to be a top issue for Americans.  In fact, medical costs now beat out both rent and food as the public’s top budgetary concern.  Issues about access to treatments and insurance coverage are deeply intertwined in these concerns. 

For common chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease, Americans’ see the need for preventative measures, screening, and care.  No surprise, given the prevalence.  Harvard medical school points out that “more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and estimates suggest it will affect 13.8 million by 2050. Already, it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.”

This translates to public policy preferences and politics.  A recent opinion poll shows that candidates who highlight Alzheimer’s care and want to make it a national priority stand to gain an electoral advantage.

A report about the poll states that “Some 87% of respondents said it’s important to make a national priority out of combating Alzheimer’s Disease. Out of those, 50% said it’s very important. Those figures are fairly evenly split among both Republicans and Democrats.”

The pollsters’ analysis claims that almost 90% of voters “say they are concerned that some Alzheimer’s patients are unable to get FDA-cleared diagnostic tests and FDA-approved treatments their doctors recommend” due to delays in or denial of coverage.

HLF has argued that increasing preventive care broadly is not only a common-sense approach benefiting patients and their families, but that increasing patient access to evidence-based treatments helps address overall healthcare costs, saving money for families and taxpayers alike, making it smart fiscal policy as well.