HHS Announces Key Milestones in National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025
Update addresses impact of Alzheimer’s-related costs, calls for increased awareness
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Friday released the official 2013 update to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. This marks the first significant update to the plan, which was released in May 2012 and set a landmark national goal to stop Alzheimer’s by 2025.
The National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease: 2013 Update outlines a series of milestones to measure whether the nation is on track to achieve the plan’s mission to effectively prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. The Update also draws attention to a recent study by RAND that found that the costs associated with Alzheimer’s exceed those related to heart disease and cancer. Without a means to cure or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s – a disease that touches 1 in 3 Americans – estimates project it will cost the U.S. $1 trillion annually by 2050.
George Vradenburg, chairman of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, member of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services, convener of the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease and member of the Commission on Long-Term Care released the following statement in response to the updated plan:
”We applaud the Obama Administration for reaffirming its commitment to finding an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease by 2025 and outlining specific milestones to reach this goal.
“Still, there remains a real need to address the inadequate level of research funding that Alzheimer’s receives, which is in no way commensurate with the scale of the threat it poses to the country.
“The financial and social impacts of Alzheimer’s are ballooning with our aging population, and immediate action across government and industry is critical to ensuring the milestones laid out in this year’s plan to address the Alzheimer’s health crisis are met successfully.
“It is time for the U.S. to take on a leadership role in the global movement to eradicate this disease by committing to double investment in Alzheimer’s in the coming fiscal year ramping up to $2 billion a year in five years – a proposal recently put forward by Senator Susan Collins (R—ME) – and by continuing to hold ourselves accountable to the milestones outlined in the strategy.
“We cannot afford to see this plan languish in another drawer in Washington – the stakes are too high.”
For more information or to speak to George Vradenburg, please contact Kyle Moler at [email protected] or 202-478-6173.
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USAgainstAlzheimer’s Action is a 501(c)(4) national advocacy campaign and advocacy network committed to stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020. An independent non-profit organization working in partnership with the Alzheimer’s community, USAgainstAlzheimer’s Action works to stop the disease by advancing policies that support research for a cure. For more information about USAgainstAlzheimer’s Action, please visit: http://usagainstalzheimersaction.org/.