For many years, I’ve been an
Alzheimer’s volunteer and advocate and have attended the annual Advocacy Forum
in Washington, D.C. for fourteen consecutive years. Because of my advocacy on
the national level, the Greater Missouri Chapter asked me to be an Alzheimer’s
Ambassador, to Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler and I gladly accepted.
Yesterday, I received an email from
Harry Johns, Alzheimer’s Association CEO, sharing good news about Alzheimer’s
legislation. Congress has incorporated the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act into
the Fiscal Year 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. The proposed $25 million
increase in Alzheimer’s research demonstrates our legislators’ focus on finding
a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
Why is the Accountability Act so
important? It will require the NIH to submit an annual budget to Congress and the
President. This budget will specify the necessary funding to reach our goal of
finding effective treatment or a cure by 2025.
The Accountability Act has been a
top priority for the Alzheimer’s Association and its sister organization,
Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM). My sister, Roberta, and I joined 900 other
advocates to carry the message to Congress last spring during the Advocacy
Forum.
Harry Johns says the bipartisan
effort is a significant step toward winning the fight against Alzheimer’s. He
said, “It demonstrates that our relentless efforts working together across our
nationwide organization—including our dedicated Ambassadors and our hundreds of
thousands of advocates—to make ending Alzheimer’s a national priority are
making a real difference.”
Alzheimer’s is the most expensive
disease in America and the cost will skyrocket as the baby boomers age. In
2014, the cost of Alzheimer’s will reach $214 billion, including $150 billion
to Medicare and Medicaid. In contrast to the cost of the disease, only 0.25% of
this total is committed to research—our only hope to end this human and
financial crisis.
I have been fortunate to help in the
effort to increase research funding for a disease that affects more than five
million Americans and their families. We are gaining momentum and it is
imperative that we relentlessly advocate until this devastating disease is
eradicated.
Copyright © December 2014 by L.S.
Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment