Alzheimer's FY 2020 Georgia Budget Request

FY2020 Request to the Georgia General Assembly for the Appropriation of $350,000 for a State-Wide Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias Awareness Campaign

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 state as well as our federal government. Alzheimer’s is a growing public health crisis.

The Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (S. 2076/H.R. 4256) recently passed Congress and has been signed into law by the President. Endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act will create an Alzheimer’s public health infrastructure across the country to implement effective Alzheimer's interventions including increasing early detection and diagnosis, reducing risk and preventing avoidable hospitalizations.

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. That is why I am joining the Alzheimer’s Association in asking the Georgia General Assembly to appropriate $350,000 in the Department of Public Health’s FY2020 Budget for a state-wide Alzheimer’s and other dementias awareness campaign on the risk factors, warning signs, and the need for an early, accurate diagnosis of all types of dementia. As someone who was a caregiver for my mother with dementia, I understand the enormous burden dementia has on Georgia families and the economy.

Today, there are over 140,000 Georgians living with Alzheimer’s – the only leading cause of death without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. Most individuals living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia delay seeking a diagnosis—because they may believe the symptoms to be normal aging, because of the stigma, or because they simply are unaware of the warning signs or the need for an early, accurate diagnosis. Barring the development of medical breakthroughs, the number of Americans with the disease is set to triple over the next 35 years, and the cost of care will increase to $1.1 trillion in 2050. It is only through adequate funding that we will change this trajectory.

Please join me in asking Sen. Jen Jordan and Rep Michael Smith to support $350,000 in the Department of Public Health’s budget for a state-wide Alzheimer’s and other dementias awareness campaign. Together we can end Alzheimer’s.

Sincerely,

Jim Williams
Smyrna Georgia
Alzheimer’s Association Legislative Ambassador and State Champion.