October 2009

Health Care Reform Update

This week, the Senate Finance Committee passed its version of the health care bill, but the process of reforming the nation’s health care system is far from over.

The Association will continue to work on Capitol Hill to secure important Alzheimer-specific provisions in health reform legislation. The policy priorities we feel must be included in health reform are:

• care coordination and transitional care
• long-term care services and supports
• affordable health insurance for individuals with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease

For more details, read about Alzheimer's-related provisions in the current bills.

What Can I Do Now?

Congress is also busy finishing the Appropriations bills in both the House and the Senate. We want to make sure the bills include funding for Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institutes of Heath (NIH) and funding for the Healthy Brain Initiative at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Please take a moment to urge your members of Congress to support these important Alzheimer’s funding measures.  

Earlier this year, the House and Senate drafted separate versions of the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-H) Appropriations bills, which included different funding amounts for these important programs. Soon a select group of House and Senate Appropriations Committee members will meet in a "Conference Committee" to work out the differences between the House and Senate passed bills and draft the final "Conference" bill.

In the final bill, we ask that the Conference Committee include the House-provided 3.1% funding increase for NIH, and the Senate-provided $2 million for the CDC Healthy Brain Initiative.

Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Update

The Social Security Administration (SSA) held a hearing in July as a first step in considering including younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease in the Administration’s Compassionate Allowances Initiative, which would speed up the process of accessing Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI) for those diagnosed with the disease under age 65.

We asked you to share your personal stories about younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease and access to benefits during the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) open comment period. We had an outstanding response – over 600 advocates have sent in their stories to the Social Security Administration.

Your input will help SSA to understand the impact of the disease on thousands of American families and why younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease should be included in the Compassionate Allowances Initiative. We will keep you updated on this issue.

New Breakthrough Act Cosponsors

We also asked you to urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act of 2009 (S. 1492/H.R. 3286). Nearly 6,500 advocates have sent emails to their members of Congress asking them to sign on to this bipartisan legislation.

Thanks to your efforts, we now have 87 cosponsors and counting! New sponsors have been signing on each week. Check out the list of cosponsors and ask your member of Congress to sign on if you have not yet done so here. 

Advocate in Action:
Kathy Good, East Central Iowa Chapter

Kathy Good (pictured at right) became a caregiver for her husband Dave in June 2003 when he was diagnosed with Visual Variant Alzheimer's disease. At the time, Dave was an Iowa District Court Judge.

Kathy and Dave joined their local Alzheimer's Association chapter board in January 2008 and formally entered the world of advocacy when they attended their first Alzheimer's Association Public Policy Forum in Washington, DC that year.   

Last month, Kathy's guest editorial was published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Her article increased awareness for Alzheimer's and commended Congressman Bruce Braley (Iowa-01) for his co-sponsorship of the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act. 

Most recently, Kathy brought 200 of her closest friends to the East Central Iowa chapter’s Memory Walk, where “Team Good” raised over $23,000.

We thank Kathy and other advocates for all of the incredible work you do!

Members of "Team Good" pose for a picture at Memory Walk. Send us your advocacy story!