As Washington debates industrial policy, artificial intelligence, and competition with Beijing, a new warning from conservative policy advocates argues that the United States is falling behind China in one area that will increasingly shape economic growth and national strength: Alzheimer’s disease.
In a new op-ed, Bull Moose Project president Aiden Buzzetti argues that while America leads the world in developing breakthrough Alzheimer’s diagnostics and treatments, China is moving faster to treat the disease as a national priority.
"China’s leaders understand Alzheimer’s and dementia as threats to economic growth, workforce participation, and national competitiveness," Buzzetti writes. "But America leads the world in creating next-generation Alzheimer’s breakthroughs. It should lead the world in deploying them."
The warning comes as new polling from the Market Institute and Trump pollster Fabrizio Ward finds overwhelming public concern about the disease. According to the survey, 87% of voters believe fighting Alzheimer’s should be a national priority, while nearly four in five voters say they are more likely to support candidates who improve access to Alzheimer’s detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
Buzzetti argues that recent scientific advances have fundamentally changed the conversation. New blood-based biomarker tests can identify signs of Alzheimer’s through a simple blood draw, while FDA-approved treatments can slow disease progression for some patients.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy echoed this with urgency to Congress, saying that “it is regulatory malpractice that we don’t have early [Alzheimer’s] screening already,” adding “we now know that early treatment of Alzheimer’s can postpone its onset.”
Yet despite this breakthrough progress in early detection, many Americans still view Alzheimer’s as an unavoidable consequence of aging rather than a disease where earlier intervention can meaningfully change outcomes.
The economic stakes are enormous.
According to research cited in the piece, treating patients before symptoms fully emerge could add roughly one year of life, reduce nursing-home stays by nearly two years, and lower medical spending by approximately $48,000 per patient. Another economist estimated that adding a single year of healthy life expectancy creates roughly $566,000 in economic value per person.
Those benefits extend beyond patients themselves. Alzheimer’s caregiving responsibilities already cost American families billions annually through lost productivity, reduced workforce participation, and unpaid care.
While the United States has become a global leader in developing Alzheimer’s innovations, Buzzetti argues that China has been more aggressive in organizing a national response.
According to the piece, Beijing has already launched a national dementia strategy involving 15 government departments and has established goals that include expanding care services and increasing the number of trained dementia-care professionals to 15 million by 2030.
The contrast should concern policymakers focused on America's long-term economic competitiveness.
"Countries that lead on this issue will strengthen families, preserve workforce participation, reduce long-term costs, and gain a competitive advantage in an aging world," he writes.
Rather than adopting China's approach wholesale, Buzzetti calls for policies that would expand access to blood-based testing, help primary-care physicians identify cognitive decline earlier, and reduce barriers preventing eligible patients from accessing FDA-approved treatments.
For conservatives focused on family stability, economic growth, and American competitiveness, Alzheimer’s is no longer just a healthcare issue. It's an opportunity to deliver on all three.
