Call our 24 hours, seven days a week helpline at 800.272.3900

24/7 Helpline 800.272.3900
Donate

House shows bipartisan support of historic prioritization of Alzheimer’s disease with an increase of $300 million for research

House shows bipartisan support of historic prioritization of Alzheimer’s disease with an increase of $300 million for research
Share or Print this page
Share or Print this page
June 16, 2015
Email: media@alz.org
Share or Print this page

House shows bipartisan support of historic prioritization of Alzheimer’s disease with an increase of $300 million for research

The House Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee today approved a historic $300 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research as requested by Alzheimer’s Association advocates. If this increase becomes law, it will be the largest annual increase in federal Alzheimer’s research funding to date. The Alzheimer’s Association applauds this exemplary bipartisan effort to address this devastating and costly disease before Alzheimer’s prevalence triples and costs quadruple in just over a generation.

“In an act of true leadership, Chairman Cole and the bipartisan members of the subcommittee reached across the aisle today to change the trajectory of the Alzheimer’s epidemic,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “This bipartisan effort reflecting a more than a 50 percent increase in Alzheimer’s research funding shows that leaders on Capitol Hill are in agreement that the burden Alzheimer’s places on families and the nation must be addressed now.”

In March, more than 1,000 advocates from all 50 states gathered in the nation’s capital for the Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum and asked their legislators for this increase of $300 million for Alzheimer’s research. The following month, Robert Egge, executive vice president of government affairs at the Alzheimer’s Association, testified before the House Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee, outlining the unique triple threat that Alzheimer’s disease poses:

  • More than 5 million Americans and their 15 million unpaid caregivers are affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Already the most expensive disease in the country, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, the cost of Alzheimer’s to the nation will soar to $1.1 trillion by 2050, threatening family savings and the future of Medicare.
  • Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

Earlier this year, the Alzheimer’s Association released Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer's Disease: How a Treatment by 2025 Saves Lives and Dollars, which reported that the United States could save $220 billion within the first five years of a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease being introduced. The report shows that meeting the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease — to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s by 2025 — would reduce the number of individuals affected by the disease by 2.5 million within the first five years of a treatment being available.

Currently, Alzheimer’s disease receives $586 million a year in federal funding for research. Leading scientists have said it will take a ramp up to $2 billion a year to reach the goal of the National Alzheimer's Plan.

    About the Alzheimer's Association

    The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.

    Keep Up With Alzheimer’s News and Events