Alzheimer's Disease is a Public Health Crisis

There are more than 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease with 140,000 of them living in the state of Georgia. I have just returned from Washington D.C. for the
Alzheimer’s Impact Movement Advocacy Forum convening more than 1200 Alzheimer’s advocates from across the nation. I went to Capitol Hill and met with Eric Johnson, Legislative Assistant for Congressman Barry Loudermilk, to explain why Congress must continue to prioritize legislative action against Alzheimer’s.

Specifically, I urged Congressman Loudermilk to support funding for increased Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as funding to implement Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (P.L. 115-406) which Congress passed into law late last year. Barring increased research funding to undercover and develop medical breakthroughs needed to prevent, slow or cure the disease, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s or other dementias could grow from 5.6 million to 13.8 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association 2019 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report. It is only through adequately funding research and policies like the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act that we can meet the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025.

I also asked that Congressman Loudermilk become a cosponsor of the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act (H.R. 1873), which would help educate clinicians on Alzheimer’s and dementia care planning services through Medicare. It is important for providers and individuals living with dementia to know about available care planning services because families and medical providers are able to discuss medical decision making, caregiver needs, social supports and wishes of the person living with dementia for future care needs. Currently less than 1 percent of seniors living with Alzheimer’s received the Medicare care planning benefit in 2017.

In addition, I asked Congressman Loudermilk to cosponsor the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act of 2019 (H.R. 1903) which would allow individuals under the age of 60 to be eligible to access programs under the Older Americans Act. Individuals living with Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s disease face unique challenges when it comes to family, work and finances, but few supportive services are available to them. There are currently 200,000 Americans under the age of 60 living with Alzheimer’s disease.

I want to thank Congressman Loudermilk for his support in fighting Alzheimer’s disease. He was a cosponsor of the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, the original HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act and has supported increases in research funding.
Please join me in urging Congressman Loudermilk to continue to invest in policies that address Alzheimer’s disease as the national public-health crisis it is.

To learn more about this disease and how you can join the fight to end Alzheimer’s, visit alzimpact.org.