Thread by @CitizenCohn

In case you thought conservatives were done with the "death panel" smear, here's the Wall Street Journal editorial page this morning. (1) wsj.com/articles/the-a…

The subject of the editorial is the outrage over a new Alzheimer's drug that will cost $56,000 with scant evidence of benefit.

Editorial sneers about "experts" making that case. Also takes a swipe at Sen. Ron Wyden, who has spoken out against the drug. (2)

Wyden has spent his career as an advocate for seniors & their health care, going back to 1970s when he was with Oregon's chapter of the Gray Panthers.

Also his mother had Alzheimer's, a fact he's cited repeatedly when making the case to help patients & their families. (3)

Just to be clear, many of the experts objecting treat Alzheimer's patients and quite a few of them (like Wyden) have loved ones who suffer/suffered with it.

They are angry because they don't believe the drug works, given evidence from the trials. (4)

Among the many worries: By approving this drug and then paying the $56,000 that Biogen wants from it, the federal government could actually steer future research away from more promising treatments. (5)

The cost could make it harder to finance programs for services like home care, which Alzheimer's patients, families need desperately.

Biden infrastructure package would spend $400B on home care. Guess who's opposed?

Yup, the WSJ opinion page. (6) wsj.com/articles/the-s…

More on the Alzheimer's drug here, in an article that I certainly hope is more nuanced and rooted in fact than what the @WSJopinion published. (7) huffpost.com/entry/fda-aduh…

Reminder: The @WSJ news staff is top notch, some of the best journalists out there. Especially on health care! They have nothing to do with the opinion page. (8)