In the September 21st 2009 online issue of Roll Call, Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, penned an article entitled, Fundamental Health Reform: Investing in Alzheimer’s Research.
Mr. Johns article brought to light the inadequate level of current funding for Alzheimer’s. In essence, our governmental research funding at present does not come anywhere near to matching the impact that this disease is having upon our society.
The article cites federal statistics that recognize that AD now kills as many people as diabetes. It also kills more people than breast and prostrate cancers combined.
The Alzheimer’s Study Group determined that AD will cost US taxpayers $20 trillion in Medicare and Medicaid costs over the next 40 years. This is just the start of how it will be if we do nothing different than we are doing now and remain complacent.
The 2010 budget provided by the National Institute on Aging (part of the National Institute of Health) for Alzheimer’s research is approximately $428 million. According to Mr. John’s article this amount represents an investment equal to $1.39 per person in America. By comparison, $8.60 on average has been invested over the past 30 years on each American for cancer research.
As a result, in 2006, survivorship from cancer had reached 10 million people, and, for the first time since being recorded, annual cancer deaths had actually fallen.
A new national poll conducted by USAgainstAlzheimer’s revealed that 88% of our registered voters say it’s important to make Alzheimer’s Disease a priority, even with the budget deficit we are facing. An equally amazing number is that 77% of those Americans polled say they have been touched by AD.
Where would we be today in our fight against AD if a sum comparable to that which has been invested in the fight against cancer had also been directed towards understanding AD causation, prevention, and a cure? The imperative before us now is simple. Research expenditures for both the private sector and our government must increase now along with a top down federally coordinated mission-driven organization.
Our 111th Congress is sitting upon two bills dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease. Combined, they address the issues of dramatically improved funding, prioritized research and informational sharing. A summary of the highlights of each bill is being provided here.
Alzheimer’s Disease Breakthrough Act of 2009. (S.1492 and HR 3286)
Sponsored by Senator Edward Markey (Dem - MA) and 136 cosponsors, this bill was introduced on July 22nd 2009. This bill includes the following action items.
1. A doubling of National Institute of Health funding for AD research.
2. Priority given to AD research.
3. An AD disease prevention initiative.
4. Accelerated Clinical research.
5. Enhanced infrastructure for implementing clinical prevention and medication trials.
6. Facilitate the clinical trial enrollment process.
7. Earlier diagnostic research.
8. Research on AD disease services and care giving.
9. Calls for a National Summit on AD 3 years after enactment.
10. A stepped up AD public education campaign.
National Alzheimer’s Project Act, or NAPA. (S.3036 and HR4689)
This bill was sponsored by Senators Evan Bayh (Dem -IN), and Susan Collins (R - ME) on February 24th 2010. This piece of legislation includes the following action items.
1. Establish an Office position for AD within the Health and Human Services administration.
2. Accelerate treatments to prevent, halt, and reverse Alzheimer’s Disease.
3. Responsible for the creation and maintenance of an integrated national plan to overcome AD.
4. Coordinate the health care and treatment of citizens with AD.
5. Ensure the inclusion of higher risk ethnic and racial populations in the receipt of care, research
and the participation in clinical trials.
6. International coordination.
7. Provide information and coordination of AD research and services across all Federal agencies.
With the timely involvement of Maria Shriver and her Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Takes On Alzheimer’s, interest and support for the passage of both of these bills in Congress should be ignited along with a nationwide dialog about AD.
Nearly 150 of our nations leading researchers believe Alzheimer’s can be stopped by 2020 provided that both sufficient funding is extended along with a coordinated top down national mission oriented strategy. The passage of both of these pieces of legislation are a step towards the funding and top down national strategy that our researchers set forth as investment requirements for stopping AD by 2020.
The time to act is now!
Jeff Dodson
October 20th 2010
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