On the Long Road for Alzheimer’s Hope

Country star Kenny Chesney captured an experience familiar to millions of families in his 2012 song “While He Still Knows Who I Am.”

The song tells the story of an adult child returning home to see his father as his memory fades. One line sums up the urgency:

While he still knows who I am.”

For families living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, that sentiment can be painfully familiar. Yet the scientific outlook today is different from what it was only a few years ago. In his 2012 hit  "While He Still Knows Who I Am" Kenny sings this lyric:

Mama says he can't remember
Daddy thinks that he still can
I'm going back to see him
While he still knows
Who I am

You can hear the song here: https://youtu.be/bKH13qpFhv8?t=2

Alzheimer’s Research Has Moved from Disappointment to Progress

In 2019, Biogen and Eisai stopped two Phase 3 clinical trials of aducanumab after an interim analysis indicated the drug was unlikely to meet its primary goals. At the time, it was another discouraging setback in the decades-long effort to develop a treatment capable of changing the course of Alzheimer’s disease. The story did not end there.

Aducanumab, marketed as Aduhelm, later received accelerated FDA approval in 2021 amid considerable scientific debate. Biogen ultimately discontinued its development and commercialization in 2024, saying it was redirecting resources toward other Alzheimer’s treatments. More importantly, researchers have since demonstrated that targeting amyloid can produce measurable clinical benefits for some people with early Alzheimer’s.

The FDA granted traditional approval to Leqembi (lecanemab) in 2023 after a confirmatory trial verified clinical benefit. The drug reduces amyloid plaques in the brain and slows cognitive and functional decline in people with early Alzheimer’s disease. In 2024, the FDA approved another amyloid-targeting treatment, Kisunla (donanemab). It also was shown to slow cognitive and functional decline in people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.

Neither drug cures Alzheimer’s, reverses existing dementia, nor stops the disease from progressing. They also are not appropriate for everyone and carry potentially serious risks that physicians must consider with patients. Still, the treatments represent something families did not have when the original aducanumab trials were halted: evidence that the course of Alzheimer’s can be modified.

Progress has continued. In July 2026, the FDA approved an at-home starting regimen for a subcutaneous form of Leqembi, allowing eligible patients or caregivers to administer the treatment under the skin at home.

7.4 Million Older Americans Are Living With Alzheimer’s

Treatment advances come as the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s continues to grow. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2026. About one in nine people age 65 and older has the disease.

Without medical breakthroughs that prevent or cure Alzheimer’s, that number could reach 13.8 million by 2060. The financial consequences are enormous. Health and long-term care costs for Americans living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are projected to reach $409 billion in 2026, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. That figure does not include the value of unpaid care provided by family members and friends.

Nearly 13 million Americans provide unpaid care to someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. In 2025, those caregivers provided more than 19 billion hours of care valued at more than $446 billion. Dementia is only part of America’s larger caregiving challenge.

AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving reported in 2025 that 63 million Americans — nearly one in four adults — are family caregivers, up nearly 20 million from a decade earlier.

Those numbers represent spouses, daughters, sons, siblings, and friends helping with medications, meals, transportation, personal care, supervision, and countless other needs.

Dementia Can Become a Long-Term Care Issue

Alzheimer’s affects more than memory. As dementia progresses, a person may have difficulty managing medications, preparing meals, dressing, bathing or navigating familiar surroundings. Someone who remains physically capable may still require substantial supervision because cognitive impairment makes it unsafe to be alone.

That is where dementia and long-term care frequently intersect. Long-term care is not limited to nursing homes. Most care is provided at home or in community settings before facility care becomes necessary. Someone with dementia may receive care through:

• In-home care

• Adult day care

• Assisted living

• Memory care

• Nursing home care

The appropriate setting depends on the person's health, cognitive abilities, safety needs, family support and finances.

Most People Will Need Some Form of Long-Term Care

Dementia is one reason people need long-term care, but it is far from the only one. Aging, chronic illness, mobility problems, accidents and other cognitive or physical impairments can all create a need for help with everyday activities. Research from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 56 percent of people turning age 65 will develop a need for long-term services and supports during their remaining lifetime.

Some will need assistance for a relatively short period. Others may need care for several years. Families often become the default caregivers when no plan is in place. That can affect careers, income, retirement savings, relationships and the caregiver's own well-being.

Medicare Is Not Long-Term Care Insurance

One of the biggest planning mistakes is assuming Medicare will pay for long-term care. It generally will not. Medicare covers limited skilled services on a short-term basis when its requirements are met, but it does not pay for most ongoing custodial long-term care — the help many people need with activities such as bathing, dressing, toileting or supervision because of cognitive impairment.

Medicaid does pay for substantial long-term services and supports, but eligibility rules include financial and other requirements that vary by state. For families with significant income or assets, relying on Medicaid usually is not the same as having a plan for how and where they want care delivered.

Long-Term Care Insurance Can Provide Choices

One way families prepare is with Long-Term Care Insurance. Tax-qualified Long-Term Care Insurance generally pays benefits when an insured person needs substantial assistance with at least two of the six activities of daily living — bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, transferring and continence — or requires substantial supervision because of severe cognitive impairment, subject to the policy's provisions.

Benefits can help pay for qualified care at home, adult day care, assisted living, memory care and nursing homes. That distinction is especially important with dementia. Someone does not necessarily need to be physically disabled to qualify for benefits. Severe cognitive impairment can independently satisfy the federal benefit trigger when the policy requirements are met.

Most people who purchase LTC Insurance coverage do so before they need care, commonly between ages 47 and 67, when they are more likely to meet health underwriting requirements and premiums are generally lower than they would be at older ages.

Traditional Long-Term Care Insurance is not the only option. Hybrid or asset-based LTC policies combine life insurance or an annuity with benefits for qualified long-term care. Designs vary considerably. Some provide reimbursement benefits, while others provide cash or indemnity benefits. Some offer extended or even lifetime long-term care benefits.

Consumers should distinguish a true qualified Long-Term Care Insurance rider under Section 7702B of the Internal Revenue Code from other accelerated death benefit or chronic illness riders. They are not necessarily equivalent. Limited-duration or short-term care policies are also available in some states and can provide another option for people who cannot qualify for, do not want or cannot afford broader coverage.

Partnership Policies Can Protect Assets

Most states participate in the federal/state Long-Term Care Partnership Program. A Partnership-qualified Long-Term Care Insurance policy can provide dollar-for-dollar asset disregard if the policyholder eventually exhausts insurance benefits and later qualifies for Medicaid.

The rules vary by state, which makes it important to understand whether a policy qualifies for Partnership protection where you live. You can review Partnership availability, Medicaid information and tax incentives using the LTC News LTC Insurance Learning Center.

Know What Care Costs Where You Live

The cost of long-term care varies dramatically depending on location and the type of services required. The LTC News Cost of Care Calculator provides current 2026 costs for home care, adult day care, assisted living, memory care and nursing home care. You can search by location and estimate how those costs may change in future years.

That information can help families determine how much of the risk they could comfortably pay from income and savings and how much they may want insurance to cover. Planning does not mean purchasing enough insurance to pay every possible dollar of future care. A Long-Term Care Insurance policy can be designed to complement retirement income and other assets.

Planning Matters Even as Alzheimer's Treatment Improves

The Alzheimer’s treatment landscape is more encouraging today than it was when the aducanumab trials were halted in 2019. Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to slow disease progression in some people with early Alzheimer’s. New diagnostic tools and treatments continue to move through development.

But slowing Alzheimer's is not curing it. Millions of people living with dementia still require supervision, personal assistance and long-term care. Millions more Americans need extended care for reasons unrelated to dementia.

That makes long-term care planning part of retirement planning. You cannot know whether you will develop Alzheimer’s, suffer a stroke, experience mobility problems or simply need help because of the consequences of aging. You can decide how your family and finances would handle those needs if they occur.

Planning before retirement generally provides more choices than waiting until a health crisis forces the issue. If an older loved one already needs care, the LTC News Caregiver Directory can help families search for home care agencies, adult day care, assisted living, memory care, nursing homes and other services by location.

If a loved one already owns Long-Term Care Insurance and needs help accessing benefits, LTC News also provides free claims assistance to help families understand the policy and navigate the claims process.

Kenny Chesney's song remains powerful because Alzheimer's can change relationships in ways families never forget. Medical science has made meaningful progress since that song was released. Families now have more reason for hope.

Hope and planning can exist together.