Alzheimer’s remains one of the leading causes of deaths in our country, yet the funding to find a cure lags dramatically behind what is necessary. In 2010, Congress unanimously passed legislation that set a goal of finding a treatment for Alzheimer’s by 2025. However, National Institutes of Health research on dementia has not increased to the $2 billion a year level that scientists say is required. For every $100 spent on Alzheimer’s research, Medicare and Medicaid programs spend $26,000 caring for people with the disease. Currently, there are 100,000 Washingtonians living with Alzheimer’s disease. That number will grow to 140,000 by 2025. We must invest more to find a treatment and a cure.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill giving $350 million more to NIH for Alzheimer’s research, while the House Committee voted $300 million. If even the lower figure is signed into law, that would be a 50 percent increase in research funding for this disease. Join me by contacting Senators Patty Murray, 202-224-2621; and Maria Cantwell, 202-224-3441; and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, 202-225-3536, and ask that they vote for this vital Alzheimer’s research boost and push to make sure it is in the final appropriations bill enacted into law.
Sandra Bacus
Stevenson
