Discrimination Risks of Alzheimer’s as Support for Social Insurance for Long-Term Care

Abstract

This short reflection on an article by J. J. Arias, A. M. Tyler, B. J. Oster, and J. Karlawish (“The Proactive Patient: Long-term Care Insurance Discrimination Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers,” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics 46, no. 2 (2018): 485-498) makes clear why the private market for long-term care insurance, and its regulation, will perpetually fail to protect families against the risks to their security posed by a family member with Alzheimer’s. It describes why a comprehensive federal solution is the only feasible and wise option.

Keywords: Law & society, health economics & policy, CLASS Act, private insurance markets, social insurance, long-term care, Alzheimer’s, dementia, next-friend risk, informal caregivers