Senator Barbara Mikulski (MD) introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate on March 15, 2007. If signed into law, the Alzheimer’s Family Assistance Act would combat the causes and impact of this terrible disease with the following goals:
1. Double the funding for Alzheimer’s research at NIH from $640 million to $1.3 billion.
2. Create a National Summit on Alzheimer’s so the best scientists in the country can come together to look at the current state of research, discuss the most promising breakthroughs, and chart the course for future research.
3. Offer family support because the family is always the first caregiver. The bill would provide a $3,000 tax credit for families caring for a loved one with a chronic condition like Alzheimer’s. It would help them pay for prescription drugs, home health care and specialized day care. It also includes a long-term care tax deduction to help make long-term care insurance more affordable for people and to help people help themselves as they plan for retirement and their future.
At the first hearing on the legislation Sen. Mikulski commented, “Alzheimer’s disease is an all-American disease that needs an all-American effort. Direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias amount to more that $148 billion annually. In 2005, Medicare spent $91 billion on beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. That number is projected to nearly double to $189 billion by 2015." I will follow the course of this legislation and keep readers of this blog informed of its status.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hi Dave,
Thanks for this blog. It's great to have someone with your background and expertise pulling together this type of information.
Reading your Alzheimer's entry reminded me that about something I ran across recently. There are some children's books that address this disease and its impact on families. A few of them are listed at:
http://www.alz-nca.org/bookrecs-younger.php
There's also at least one book that is written specifically for the one suffering the memory loss. I don't have a link but I'll try to find it.
Families affected by Alzheimer's have many more resources today than before, as you point out. Knowing about these books might help the youngest members deal with a very difficult situation.
Post a Comment