Idaho families are paying the price of late Alzheimer’s diagnoses, but ASAP Act could help

Three years ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Sadly, he’s not unique in this regard. According to new data released from the Alzheimer’s Association, there are currently 7.4 million Americans living with this devastating disease.

As an elder law attorney, I’ve spent much of my career helping families navigate what comes next: long-term care decisions, Medicaid planning, the financial and emotional strain that follows a diagnosis. I’ve guided countless clients through the difficult decisions that come when a loved one begins to lose their memory.

My grandfather lives in a small community, which meant getting an initial diagnosis wasn’t simple. It involved traveling to see a specialist, navigating long wait times, and enduring a process that many families find overwhelming. By the time we had answers, valuable time had already been lost.

And that’s what I see every day in my practice: families playing catch-up.

Too often, people come to me only after Alzheimer’s has already taken hold — when one spouse is already struggling, when children are scrambling to make decisions that were never discussed, when financial options have narrowed and stress is at its peak.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Science has given us something we didn’t have before: a simple blood test that can detect Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear. That early detection opens the door to treatment, planning, and, just as importantly, time.

And yet, Medicare cannot currently cover these tests.

I’ve seen the cost of memory care. I’ve sat with families trying to figure out how to pay for it. Long-term care can drain a lifetime of savings. Families are forced into difficult decisions about whether to keep a loved one at home or move them into a facility they can barely afford. And when those resources run out, the burden shifts to Medicaid and taxpayers.

The cost of care is staggering, not just for the federal and state government, but for Idaho families who often bear a significant portion of the financial burden themselves. Of the total lifetime cost of caring for someone with dementia, 70% is borne by families — either through out-of-pocket health and long-term care expenses or from the value of unpaid care.

Giving people access to early detection is not just compassionate policy, it’s smart economics.

Early diagnosis allows patients to access treatments that can slow progression. It helps keep people in the workforce longer. It delays the need for costly long-term care. Right now, too many families are being forced to make life-altering decisions without ever having had the chance to plan. Conversations that should have happened years earlier — about finances, care preferences, and legacy — are happening in moments of crisis, if they happen at all.

A simple blood test administered by a primary care provider could change that equation entirely.

We already do this for other diseases. We screen early. We treat early. We save money and improve outcomes. Alzheimer’s should be no different.

Congress has before it the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act, which would enable Medicare to cover these blood tests and expand access to early detection.

This is not a partisan issue. Alzheimer’s doesn’t care about political affiliation, income level, or geography. It affects families across Idaho — in Boise, in rural communities, and everywhere in between.

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo has long been a leader on fiscal responsibility and health policy. Supporting early detection aligns with both. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Crapo is in a position to advance the ASAP Act, which can help reduce long-term costs while giving Idaho families something far more valuable: time.