News Life Sciences New nationally coordinated strategy to guide Alzheimer’s research
New nationally coordinated strategy to guide Alzheimer’s research
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By Karen Gentry | LabWork
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MICHIGAN – With the recent passage of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, the country now has a nationally coordinated strategy to overcome Alzheimer’s disease.
The Alzheimer’s Association has been working hard for the passage of NAPA for a full two years, according to Robert Egge, VP of public policy for the Alzheimer’s Association in Washington, D.C. NAPA will launch a coordinated federal campaign within the government and directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to lead the evaluation of the federal government’s current efforts with Alzheimer’s.
“The concept grew out of the Alzheimer’s Study Group, a bipartisan task force formed by the Alzheimer’s Association to look at the major things that need to be done,” Egge told LabWork.
Although there is no money attached to the bill, NAPA will focus on what can be done now to increase effectiveness. An advisory council will be created with 10 members from the federal government and 12 members from outside the federal government. There will be accountability through annual reports.
“It’s a great opportunity to be analyzing what kind of funding we do need. Our funding for Alzheimer’s research is far too low,” Egge said.
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) is one of the co-sponsors of NAPA.
“I know so many families who are impacted by the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease. That is why I co-sponsored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, which will provide critical support to patients and families who need it most,” Stabenow told LabWork.
Stabenow is a member of the Alzheimer’s Task Force, author of the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education for Alzheimer’s Act (HOPE) and co-sponsor of the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act.
Egge said the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act calls for $2 billion in research funding for Alzheimer’s.
“It is a fraction of what we spend today on the cost of caring for people with this disease. Fundamentally, it’s about providing more research,” Egge said.
The Alzheimer’s Association is currently building support for the bill and explaining why the investment is what’s needed to bring down Medicare and Medicaid costs. Egge noted that costs associated with Alzheimer’s drive up the cost of Medicare and Medicaid. Alzheimer’s and other dementias cost Medicare three times more than other diseases and Medicaid costs are nine times higher.
“There’s a growing recognition that we really have to deal with the disease as one of the leading public health crises facing America,” Egge said.
According to Alzheimer’s Association statistics, for every $25,000 the federal government spends for care of people with Alzheimer’s, only $100 is spent on research. From 2000 to 2006 deaths from Alzheimer’s increased by 46.1 percent while deaths from heart disease decreased by 11.1 percent, breast cancers deaths decreased by 2.6 percent, prostate cancer deaths decreased by 8.7 percent, stroke deaths decreased by 18.2 percent and deaths from HIV/AIDS decreased by 16.3 percent during the same time period.
The Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act would establish a comprehensive research effort on Alzheimer’s at the National Institutes of Health and make Alzheimer’s research a priority at the National Institute on Aging. The act would also authorize Alzheimer’s programs such as the Centers for Disease controls Healthy Brain Initiative, the Alzheimer’s Call Center and the Alzheimer Care State Matching Grant Program.
The HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act will increase detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and provide access to information and support for newly diagnosed patients and their families.
Egge said HOPE focuses on the care side of what needs to be done including a new package of benefits under Medicare to encourage the detection, diagnosis and care planning. This includes notation on medical records for appropriate care from one healthcare setting to another.
Egge said the bills have to be reintroduced in the new Congress, but the Alzheimer’s Association is hopeful about both pieces of legislation. LW
