Family and advocacy groups urge insurance coverage for Alzheimer's biomarker testing

Public commenter John Powell described his late wife’s decline from probable Alzheimer’s and told the committee that recent approvals and diagnostic advances change the calculus for care. "My wife, Judy Saddlebaum, ... her life ended 2 and a half years ago from dementia, probably Alzheimer's," Powell said, and he told members that had blood‑based biomarkers and newer therapies been available earlier, they might have altered her course.

Jenny Morgan of the Alzheimer's Association urged expanded access to biomarker testing and said earlier diagnosis can create opportunities to access FDA‑approved treatments and may reduce long‑term costs. "We certainly think that biomarker testing of increasing access not only benefits families, it benefits people living with disease, but also has significant financial benefit to the state," Morgan said, and she cited organization estimates on individual and public program savings in testimony.

What was claimed: Morgan summarized cost estimates in her remarks, saying the association's modeling shows potential savings including personal cost reductions and Medicaid and Medicare savings tied to delayed institutionalization; those figures were presented to the committee as organization estimates and were not established in the hearing record by an independent fiscal analysis.

Why it matters: Committee members signaled support for moving discussion of biomarkers and coverage questions to finance and insurance staff to determine premium and appropriation impacts before committing to a coverage requirement. Staff warned that if the legislature requires coverage, the state could face increased premiums or appropriations depending on the policy language.

Ending: Members agreed to ask the finance committee and staff to analyze the possible premium and budgetary effects of any biomarker coverage provision before the committee takes final action.