On April 2 in my Washington, D.C. office, I met with Alzheimer’s association advocates from Missouri to discuss ways in which we can fight this disease on the federal level.
During the meeting one thing remained clear and that was Alzheimer’s disease is a problem that will continue to get worse if we don’t take action. It’s a problem that affects every part of the country as no one is spared from having or knowing someone that suffers from the disease.
In the U.S., nearly 6 million people are living with Alzheimer’s. This deadly disease kills more individuals than those with breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
In the U.S., nearly 6 million people are living with Alzheimer’s. This deadly disease kills more individuals than those with breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
Not only is it deadly, it is one of the most expensive diseases in the U.S., costing $290 billion, including nearly $200 billion a year for Medicare and Medicaid. The long-term trends for Alzheimer’s are startling.
By 2050, it is estimated that 16 million people will be living with Alzheimer’s at a cost of over a trillion dollars. One out of every three dollars in Medicare could be spent on Alzheimer’s alone. This heartbreaking disease, though, affects more than those diagnosed. In 2018, more than 16 million Americans provided billions worth of unpaid care for loved ones.
The numbers in Missouri aren’t much better. Currently there are 110,000 individuals living with Alzheimer’s, with that number expected to increase to 130,000 by 2025. In 2017 alone, more than 2,500 people died from the disease. Just like all across the country, the thousands of caregivers in Missouri worked more than 316 million unpaid hours that equaled to billions of unpaid care.
These alarming numbers are just a small part of the bigger problem at hand. Thankfully, this is a bipartisan issue in Congress that many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are working to fix. Recently I cosponsored H.R. 1873 with Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. This bill would help identify barriers for caregivers and individuals with Alzheimer’s trying to access care planning.
H.R. 1873 builds upon work from the 115th Congress, including the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, which I also cosponsored. This bill was signed into law in December and targets prevention, treatment and care for patients by creating Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence. Through this, cooperative agreements will be awarded that will help early detection and diagnosis at the local and state levels while also increasing data analysis of this growing problem.
As we continue to work to find a cure for this disease, I will continue to meet with constituents, like I did a few weeks ago, to see how I can help. No one should have to suffer from this disease and no loved one should have to watch a slow motion loss of a loved one.
The numbers in Missouri aren’t much better. Currently there are 110,000 individuals living with Alzheimer’s, with that number expected to increase to 130,000 by 2025. In 2017 alone, more than 2,500 people died from the disease. Just like all across the country, the thousands of caregivers in Missouri worked more than 316 million unpaid hours that equaled to billions of unpaid care.
These alarming numbers are just a small part of the bigger problem at hand. Thankfully, this is a bipartisan issue in Congress that many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are working to fix. Recently I cosponsored H.R. 1873 with Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. This bill would help identify barriers for caregivers and individuals with Alzheimer’s trying to access care planning.
H.R. 1873 builds upon work from the 115th Congress, including the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, which I also cosponsored. This bill was signed into law in December and targets prevention, treatment and care for patients by creating Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence. Through this, cooperative agreements will be awarded that will help early detection and diagnosis at the local and state levels while also increasing data analysis of this growing problem.
As we continue to work to find a cure for this disease, I will continue to meet with constituents, like I did a few weeks ago, to see how I can help. No one should have to suffer from this disease and no loved one should have to watch a slow motion loss of a loved one.
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