This article originally appeared in the 2025 Impact Report. Become a member today to get access to additional exclusive content, meetings and insights into the Alzheimer's and dementia public policy community.

Since its founding, AIM has led efforts to secure substantial increases for Alzheimer’s and dementia research funding at the state and federal levels. As a result of this increased funding, scientists have been able to work at a more rapid pace to advance basic disease knowledge, explore ways to reduce risk, uncover new biomarkers for early diagnosis and drug targeting, and develop potential treatments. 

“We’re at the moment when our knowledge and discoveries are changing the way we address Alzheimer’s and all other dementia,” said Jennifer Rosen, vice president of state affairs, Alzheimer’s Association and AIM. “And because of relentless AIM advocacy and bipartisan support from state champions across the nation, state governments are taking action to meet this moment.”

Two of these state initiatives include: ensuring access to biomarker testing and securing state employee health plan coverage of Alzheimer’s treatments.

Access to Biomarker Testing

In October 2023, the Alzheimer’s Association joined a national state legislative coalition of patient advocates committed to ensuring insurance coverage for comprehensive biomarker testing. National coalition members include ACS-CAN, ALS Association and the Arthritis Foundation, among other organizations. 

Biomarkers offer one of the most promising ways to improve dementia detection and diagnosis. Methods for detecting biomarkers include conducting imaging scans or collecting samples of bodily fluids like blood, saliva, or cerebrospinal fluid. Scientists are rapidly making progress on a new generation of blood tests that might soon replace the more expensive and invasive tools currently used for Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

However, insurance coverage for biomarker testing is failing to keep pace with these innovations. With as many as half of Americans living with Alzheimer’s not being formally diagnosed, AIM is working with policymakers across the country to advance and pass state legislation that will require insurance coverage for biomarker testing. 

By advancing this legislation, states are working to reduce the time it takes to receive a diagnosis and make it easier to access new disease-modifying treatments and care planning. With multiple Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatments that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s in the early stages, the early detection and diagnosis of the disease are even more critical to ensure individuals receive the most benefit at the earliest point possible.

Last year, three states enacted comprehensive legislation to ensure access to biomarker testing, bringing the total number of states that require coverage in both public and private insurance plans to 16. Four other states enacted legislation that requires partial coverage of public or private insurance for biomarker testing.

State Employee Plan Coverage of Alzheimer’s Treatments 

Since 2023, thanks to relentless AIM advocacy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved coverage of multiple FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments. To build on this momentum, AIM has been working on other policy solutions to increase access to Alzheimer’s disease treatments via state policy, such as securing state employee plan coverage for these treatments. 

In most states, state employee plans are the largest group that can be impacted by state policy. State and local governments employ over 14.87 million full-time workers throughout the country, creating a substantial insurance pool. State governments have jurisdiction over health insurance benefits for their employees, retirees, and dependents. Additionally, more than half of the states allow, and in a few cases require, state employee plans to cover local or regional government employees and employees of public education institutions.

Importantly, states also have significant control over how they choose to finance and operate their state employee health plans. That’s why AIM has been working in states throughout the nation to take on the era of treatment by covering Alzheimer’s treatments in state employee plans.

For families facing a terrible disease, scientific progress on biomarker testing and Alzheimer’s treatments has provided hope — state governments must meet this moment. As state legislatures go back into session in 2025, AIM will continue efforts to ensure states cover existing and emerging innovations that are accessible and affordable for everyone. 

State Spotlight

Thanks to AIM’s leadership, Illinois was the first state in the nation to enact legislation that ensures access to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments for state employees. Senate Bill 3318, which passed the Illinois House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by the governor in August 2024, requires the State Employees Group Insurance Program to provide coverage for treatments that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and other dementia, as well as necessary diagnostic testing. The legislation also prohibits step therapy (when an insurer requires a patient to try a lower cost treatment option first). 

As the bipartisan bill moved through both the House and Senate, AIM met with every member of the relevant committees and leadership, and advocates took action to urge their state legislators to support this critical legislation several times throughout the session.

“AIM was proud to work closely with bipartisan state champions in Illinois to pass this first-in-the-nation legislation,” said Rosen. “We are continuing our work in other states to ensure people across the country, not just those in Illinois, have access to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s diagnostics and treatments.”