Baby boomers and Gen Xers whose parents or grandparents have been ravaged by Alzheimer’s Disease would surely welcome a cure — a breakthrough that would restore the precious memories and personality traits loved ones have lost and enable them to perform simple, everyday functions such as smiling, speaking and recognizing a family member.
A cure to one of America’s most feared and costly disease is the ultimate goal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Even modest advances that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s or delay its onset dramatically would reduce the numbers of today’s active adults who suffer from the disease over the next 40 years. Incremental improvements also would achieve dramatic savings for the Medicare and Medicaid (not to mention out-of-pocket costs not covered by these federal programs and not including the value of unpaid care given by family members and others). Those are two compelling reasons to reverse America’s chronic underinvestment in, and the lack of a national plan for, Alzheimer’s research.
A recent report released by the Alzheimer’s Association found that, absent even incremental advances in the onset or progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, the number of Americans 65 and older who are suffering from the disease will balloon 265 percent, from 5.1 million today to 13.5 million, by mid-century. In Kentucky, the numbers will grow from 80,000 to nearly 212,000.
The report also found that, without a breakthrough that will delay onset or slow progression, the total annual cost of care for Americans with Alzheimer’s will rise from $172 billion today to more than $1 trillion in 2050.
Today, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. And there are no treatments that can prevent, delay, stop or slow the progression of the disease.
But what would happen if a breakthrough that delayed onset by five years occurred by 2015? In that case, according to the report, we would see a dramatic reduction in the number of Alzheimer’s victims in as little as 10 years, as the number of Americans 65 and older with the disease would decrease from 5.6 million to 4 million. By 2050, 5.8 million fewer Americans would have Alzheimer’s and 3 million fewer Americans would be in the severe stages of the disease.
The costs for treatment also would drop significantly: the Medicare and Medicaid programs combined would save $42 billion annually by 2020 and $362 billion annually by 2050.
Similarly, a treatment breakthrough by 2015 that slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s — assume a scenario where those with the disease would remain in each of the mild and moderate stages five times longer than they do now — would mean:
•The number of Americans in the severe stages of Alzheimer’s in 2020 would drop from 2.4 million to 1.1 million.
•The number of Americans in the severe stages in 2050 would drop from 6.5 million to 1.2 million.
•Annual Medicare and Medicaid savings would be $34 billion by 2020, and $180 billion by 2050.
While America’s search for a cure is ongoing, the projections clearly show that research leading to breakthroughs that delay onset or slow progression of Alzheimer’s Disease offer substantial benefits. Yet no one government entity has the sole purpose of mounting a full campaign against Alzheimer’s Disease, and there is no oversight agency to ensure that every dollar spent on Alzheimer’s disease is used to ensure the best possible research, the best possible care and the right number of nursing beds for current and future victims and their families.
The Alzheimer’s Association is advocating legislation that would create a National Alzheimer’s Project Office to develop and implement a comprehensive national plan to change the course of Alzheimer’s Disease. The legislation (S. 3036 / H.R. 4689) builds on recommendations of the independent, bipartisan Alzheimer’s Study Group which found that an office dedicated to Alzheimer’s could draw on the expertise residing in various government agencies as well as individuals living with the disease, family and professional caregivers, healthcare providers and others. I urge you to ask your Senator and Representative to support this legislation.