New legislation would fight to #ENDALZ

It is time we change our thinking on Alzheimer’s disease. Too often Alzheimer’s is treated as an aging issue, ignoring the public health consequences of a disease that someone in the U.S. develops every 66 seconds. And with two-thirds of its annual costs being borne by Medicare and Medicaid, it is one that demands more attention from our government.

As an advocate for the 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s and over 140,000 living with the disease in Georgia, I understand the disease’s impact / the physical and emotional costs of the disease. As a palliative care social worker, I have watched the disease not only ravage a person’s mind and body but steal people’s dignity and create chaos and turmoil within families emotionally, socially, and economically. Alzheimer’s disease causes a person to suffer for at times decades while there is no treatment or cure. This is hope however, in prevention. Prevention that is possible through public health interventions including increasing early detection and diagnosis, reducing risk and preventing avoidable hospitalizations.

Congress has a chance to take decisive action passing the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (S. 2076). Endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act would create an Alzheimer’s public health infrastructure across the country to implement effective Alzheimer's interventions.

Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in the U.S. Alzheimer’s costs the country more than $277 billion a year, which is why we need the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act. If we are going to end Alzheimer’s disease, then we must start treating it like the public health threat it is.

BOLD will be reviewed and considered by the Senate HELP committee on Thursday of this week! Join me in asking Senator Isakson to fight for the millions of Americans affected by Alzheimer’s by cosponsoring the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act.

Sincerely,

Sarah Collett

Alzheimer’s Advocate