By Moe Vela, Real Clear Health
To achieve this objective, the Vice President would be wise to run on and not away from the historic successes of the Biden-Harris Administration and project an even stronger vision for the future. Its record of accomplishments have improved life for millions of Americans, and especially underrepresented communities. Their policies and priorities have resulted in the creation of millions of new jobs. They helped end a worldwide pandemic. Historic and bipartisan legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriages became law. The first Black woman sits on the Supreme Court. And more Americans than ever before have access to health care.
Vice President Harris has another historic opportunity to improve life for millions of Americans and strengthen the party’s appeal to some of its key demographics—by expanding access to Alzheimer’s care. This cruel disease affects nearly 1 in 9 Americans 65 and older, and new data shows the rate of illness among Hispanics is expected to increase sevenfold in the next 40 years. Among Blacks it will quadruple.
I’ve lived this agonizing nightmare. After 17 years with dementia, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his final months. We had to say goodbye twice: first, when it took his mind, and again when it took his life. It was devastating to see him lose his memory, most of all for my mother, who became his primary caregiver. Having spent her life as a kindergarten teacher, she used her experience molding young minds to patiently work with my dad to preserve as much of his cognitive ability as possible. I believe her endurance helped him retain his ability to recognize my mother and me right until the very end, even as his mind lost touch with most other memories.
Caregiving is extremely difficult and all-consuming commitment that takes an incredible emotional and physical toll. Many people don’t have someone like my mom able and willing to throw themselves into it full time with the attention the patient requires. In fact, more than eight in ten caregivers are family members, friends or other unpaid caregivers. About a third are older than 65.
New treatments are entering the market that can help with burden by mitigating the symptoms of the disease and how we treat it. With this innovation comes a new hope for seniors and communities of color to not only see a doctor, but also get the care they need with a diagnosis. Innovation saves and improves lives. Government policy should embrace it, whether in pharma, diagnostics, tech, or any other industries.
Under Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra’s effective leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has expanded access through Medicare to advanced Alzheimer’s diagnostics, removing decades-long coverage restrictions that narrowed coverage and improving reimbursement for doctors to encourage screening and accurate diagnosis. It should do the same for FDA-approved drugs that can delay the progression of Alzheimer’s, giving people with the disease more time to live independently—and giving families more time with the ones they love. Polls show that large majorities of voters support this approach.
Prior to President Biden’s courageous decision to step aside, older voters were standing with him. A Quinnipiac University poll released in May showed the President with a 12 point lead (55% to 43%) with voters who are 65 or older. If these numbers hold, the Democrats would carry seniors for the first time in nearly a quarter century. Bold leadership on expanding Alzheimer’s care could help Vice President Harris make up ground with Blacks and Hispanics too.
Our party’s nominee may have changed, but our commitment to care remains resolute. The opportunity is now incumbent on Vice President Harris to pursue the good policies that will translate to good politics.
This article originally ran in RealClearHealth on September 12, 2024.
A founding partner of the Vela Group, Moe Vela served as the former CFO, Director of Management, and Senior Advisor on Latino and LGBT policy to Vice President Al Gore and Vice President Joe Biden. He is the first Hispanic American and LGBTQ-American to serve twice in the White House in senior executive roles.