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Congress Delivers Historic Alzheimer’s Research Funding Increase for Second Consecutive Year

Congress Delivers Historic Alzheimer’s Research Funding Increase for Second Consecutive Year
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April 30, 2017
Email: media@alz.org
Media Line: 312.335.4078
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Today, the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) are celebrating the announcement that Congress will pass a $400 million increase for Alzheimer’s research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the FY2017 budget. This marks the second consecutive year that Congress has approved a historic funding increase for Alzheimer’s.

“The Alzheimer’s Association, our sister organization the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement and our network of dedicated advocates have worked tirelessly with leaders in Congress to make Alzheimer’s a national priority,” said Alzheimer’s Association and AIM President and CEO Harry Johns. “On behalf of the more than 5 million Americans living with this devastating disease and their more than 15 million caregivers, we are grateful to Congress for taking decisive action in the fight to end Alzheimer’s.”

This bipartisan effort was spearheaded by Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and by House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.), and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.).

Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured, and leading independent researchers have determined it has become the nation’s most expensive disease, with costs for this year alone projected to be $259 billion. In 2016, for every $100 the U.S. government spent on Alzheimer’s research it spent $16,000 in Medicare and Medicaid costs caring for individuals living with this fatal disease. When the $400 million increase is signed into law later this week, Alzheimer’s research funding at the NIH will be nearly $1.4 billion. Leading experts have said this FY2017 increase was needed to remain on track to meet the first goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s — to effectively treat and prevent Alzheimer’s by 2025. 

The Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program, through philanthropic support, has committed over $385 million to more than 2,500 best-of-field grant proposals, leading to field-changing advances. According to Thomson Reuters InCites (formerly Web of Science), the Alzheimer’s Association ranks as the highest impact nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's disease research in the world, ranking in overall impact behind only the Chinese and United States governments.

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.

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