$350,000 Awareness Funding Included in Budget

Alzheimer’s disease is a growing public health crisis that is having an enormous impact on Georgia families and the Georgia economy.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report released on March 5, there are 150,000 Georgians over the age of 65 living with Alzheimer’s, and 533,000 more providing them with unpaid care. In 2019, it is estimated that the state will pay nearly $1.180 Billion in Medicaid costs for people living with Alzheimer’s. Those numbers are only expected to rise as the state’s population ages.

Georgia’s legislature and Governor are addressing the Alzheimer’s crisis as a top priority. In the FY19 Supplemental Budget, the General Assembly included $350,000 for a state-wide public awareness campaign on Alzheimer’s as a line item in the Department of Public Health’s budget. Governor Brian Kemp signed HB30 on March 13, approving the funding for the Awareness Campaign.

This will ensure that Georgians become aware of the risk factors, warning signs, the need to visit their primary care physician for an early/accurate diagnosis, and gain access to the resources available to help them as they develop a care plan to live with the disease. For those Georgians receiving Medicare, physicians should annually conduct the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, including cognitive screening.

Alzheimer’s advocates from across the state came to the Capitol on February 5, for Alzheimer’s Awareness Day to meet with their legislators to request this funding. Representatives Jesse Petrea and Ron Stephens, both members of the House Appropriations Health Subcommittee joined the advocates for lunch during in addition to Representatives Greg Kennard, Larry Walker, and John LaHood; many other Representatives also stopped by during the day as their schedules permitted. On February 6, the House Appropriations Health Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Butch Parrish, added the $350,000 for the campaign to their budget recommendation. On February 19, the Senate Appropriations Human Development and Public Health Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Renee Unterman, maintained the $350,000 in their recommendation.

We appreciate House Appropriations Chairman Terry England and Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill for their support of the funding.

As a Champion for Senator Jen Jordan , I wanted to express my appreciation for her support in also supporting this funding, and join in thanking both the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate for recognizing the needs of Georgians living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias and their families. My family needed access to these services to determine what was causing our mothers decline in cognitive function. There was little information at the time to guide us to the diagnosis.

We appreciate the commitment demonstrated by the Georgia Governor and the Georgia General Assembly to raise awareness so that those needing the diagnosis can receive it, and have access to the care planning, medical care and support services that they need. Thank You!