Advocates impact legislators

Advocates from across Missouri came together in Jefferson City on March 11 to inform legislators about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and our legislative priorities. No other form of persuasion is more effective than inviting those who really care about AD to go to the capital and exercise the right of democracy. This year’s 47 participants from mid-Missouri and 242 statewide made powerful impressions.

Legislative Priorities

Our first priority was the Alzheimer’s Task Force. Twenty years ago Missouri had a blue ribbon task force to study Alzheimer’s disease. In the last 15 years alone, our knowledge has grown exponentially. Today, 110,000 individuals in Missouri have Alzheimer’s disease; this number is expected to grow to 160,000 by 2025. The time to plan for the future is now.

Alzheimer Advocates are asking for legislation to create an Alzheimer’s State Plan Task Force. Members of the task force would include a person with early memory loss, a caregiver, elected officials, department directors, professionals from diverse disciplines, and others.

The taskforce would look at assessing the current and future impact of AD, examining services and resources, developing recommendations for the future, and evaluating implementation and impact. A distinct feature of the taskforce is to gather public input through community forums.

A House and Senate bill has been filed (HB272—Representative Chapelle-Nadal and SB176 — Senator Stouffer) and we hope both will pass as consent, meaning no fiscal note.

Our second legislative priority is asking legislators to fund $539,000 for Alzheimer’s Service Grants, which support individuals with Alzheimer’s and their family caregivers and are designed to help postpone premature institutionalization.

The grants fund services such as respite assistance, programs for people with early stage dementia, scholarships for MedicAlert + Safe Return, outreach in underserved communities and family education classes. The funding is distributed equitably across the state through grants from the Department of Health and Senior Services and administered by the four Alzheimer’s Association Chapters. The funding also allows for a match to draw down more than $2 million federal dollars to expand programs and services.

As the session continues, we will closely monitor our legislative priorities. Advocates connected by email will receive periodic updates on legislation. If you’d like to receive updates, click on ADVOCATE.