President Obama to provide federal funding for Alzheimer's programs

Dec 26 2011

As the world's leading voluntary health organization advocating for Alzheimer's care, support and research, the Alzheimer's Association is pleased that Congress and President Obama have responded to calls by the Alzheimer's Association on behalf of people with Alzheimer's disease, caregivers, health professionals and researchers, to provide federal funding for several programs critical to the Alzheimer's community.

The Fiscal Year 2012 Omnibus Appropriations bill, that was passed last week and signed by President Obama today, includes funding for the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services.  NAPA mandates the development of the first-ever national plan to address the rapidly escalating Alzheimer's crisis and coordination of Alzheimer's disease efforts across the federal government. One year after enactment of NAPA, the Association is delighted that Congressional Appropriators supported the intent of Congress for robust implementation of the statute by providing $250,000 in funding for the Advisory Council. Leadership and foresight by Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL), House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is appreciated by the Alzheimer's Association and the millions impacted by this fatal disease.

"It is clear that the Alzheimer's Association's efforts on behalf of people living with Alzheimer's disease, families and health professionals, are being heard. We urgently need funding that will provide us with a greater understanding of Alzheimer's as well as provide care and support to those currently impacted," said Robert Egge, Vice President of Public Policy for the Alzheimer's Association. "Our hope is that the priority placed on Alzheimer's disease by the federal government will continue to increase to a level that is proportionate to the human and financial toll of this disease."

Continuing to set an example for successful programs, Congress intends to fund the National Alzheimer's Call Center, which is a helpline run by the Alzheimer's Association that is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to provide crisis counseling, care consultation, and information and referral services in 140 different languages for people with the disease, caregivers, families and professionals and all those impacted. Historically, federal funding for the National Alzheimer's Call Center has been included in the annual appropriations bill at $1 million.  This productive private-public partnership has included a matching investment by the Alzheimer's Association to ensure effective support for people impacted by Alzheimer's disease.  The Association is pleased that the program was included in the Administration on Aging (AoA) Aging Network Support Activities program for Fiscal Year 2012. While the specific funding level was not enumerated in the Omnibus bill, the intent of Congress is to continue this successful program.

Critical to changing the trajectory of Alzheimer's disease is research, and because of the Alzheimer's Association's advocacy efforts, an additional $12 million was directed to the Department of Defense (DoD) Peer-reviewed Alzheimer's Research Program.  Established eight months ago with $15 million, the program focuses on innovative and outcome-oriented research that is relevant to military personnel and the Alzheimer's community. As a result, the well-designed and results-oriented program received strong support from House Defense Subcommittee Chairman C.W. Bill Young (R-FL) and Ranking Member Norm Dicks (D-WA), Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) and Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) helping to drive the added investment to continue this important program for Fiscal Year 2012. Their thoughtful leadership is valued by the Alzheimer's Association and our constituents.

In addition, on the research front, extensive advocacy by the Alzheimer's Association was successful in ensuring that biomedical research remains a priority.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) saw an additional $299 million added to their budget, bringing the total to $30.6 billion.  The bill also established for the first time the new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). As part of the funding directed to the NIH through the Omnibus spending bill, $10 million was designated for a new program within NCATS – the Cures Acceleration Network (CAN). NCATS and CAN will provide vital new approaches to moving high need medical cures through the drug development pipeline faster.  Given the estimated 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and 16 million people projected to have the disease by mid-century, according to the Alzheimer's Association's 2011 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, these innovative processes are an important opportunity for Alzheimer's biomarker and early detection research. The funding commitment to the NIH, along with the Agriculture Appropriations bill passage in November, that provided the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) funding at $2.5 billion (a $50 million increase over FY11), will support critical FDA responsibilities, including the review of potential breakthrough therapies and diagnostics for those with Alzheimer's disease.

"Hope of changing the trajectory of Alzheimer's lies in the discovery of effective treatments and identifying Alzheimer's at an early pathology point," said William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "NIH, FDA and DoD funding for Alzheimer's must increase as a national priority so that we can advance medical progress, improve the lives of people with Alzheimer's and reduce cost incurred by the federal government in the future."

SOURCE Alzheimer's Association