About Alzheimer's Drugs & Insurance Coverage

Identification

• Science has proven that Alzheimer's becomes worse as the body decreases its level of acetylcholine. Cholinesterase inhibitors improve the body's ability to increase acetylcholine levels. Brain activity is maintained and memory is stable for a period of time. The specific drugs used to fight Alzheimer's are Donepezil, Galantamine, Rivastigmine and Tacrine. These drugs are helpful at the onset of Alzheimer's. Memantine is useful in late stages of Alzheimer's.
  
  

Features

• Medicare Part D is the drug component of the Medicare benefit. Under this program, these drugs are covered. Medicaid also covers illnesses related to long term care. Alzheimer's falls in that category. The Medicaid benefit will also cover these drugs up to the individual beneficiaries cap for coverage.
  
  

Benefits

• Alzheimer's drugs have only been beneficial in 10 to 20 percent of all cases. The improvement is slight to moderate in most cases. Very few cases see a real turn around. Families, however, are happy to see the slightest improvement in the loved ones. Even in cases where drugs stop the progression of Alzheimer's, caregivers see this as an improvement.
  
  

Warning

• There are side effects associated with all Alzheimer's drugs. Diarrhea and vomiting are side effects associated with all Alzheimer drugs. Liver damage has been associated with Tacrine. Dizziness is reported with patients who take Memantine. The tolerance level for any of the Alzheimer's drugs vary from one patient to the next. Doctors, patients and their caregivers will have to experiment to find the best solution.
  
  

Theories/Speculation

• As Alzheimer's drug increase their success rates, commercial insurance companies may be more inclined to cover them. The current rate of success for these drugs doesn't bode well when looking at statistical analysis. As the population gets older and the incident of Alzheimer's increases, the priority to find successful solutions to the illness will increase.
  
  

Significance

• Alzheimer's is a particularly cruel disease in that family members may linger with the patient for long periods of time before the patient actually dies. During that time, the patient may no longer remember loved ones or how to perform simple activities. This type of decline takes it toll with caregivers. A stronger drug benefit will lighten the load for patients and caregivers.