In response to the recent reductions in staff and funding for programs across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has joined 30 leading neurological advocacy organizations in urging an immediate halt to funding and staffing cuts that threaten progress in the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s and dementia. These cuts risk reversing critical advancements in research and care for diseases that affect millions of Americans.

The full text of the joint statement is below: 

We, the undersigned organizations, are deeply concerned that additional reductions in staff and funding for dementia programs across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will reverse progress toward effective prevention, treatment, and care. Half of all American families have been touched by Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, and we have all benefited from the bipartisan commitment to ending this disease.

We count on a strong disease prevention program at the CDC, on research toward cures and care at the NIH, on world-class scientific experts at FDA, on Meals on Wheels and other programs from the Administration for Community Living, and on coordination of all of these efforts through staff at the HHS headquarters. The agencies affected by these cuts are at the heart of the progress America has made toward better understanding how to prevent and treat these devastating diseases. Cuts made without a clear, public plan to continue these efforts will have enduring and tragic consequences for millions of families, increase the economic burden on our nation and on families caring for the millions of Americans with these diseases, and could derail progress toward the goals established under the National Alzheimer’s Project Act and its reauthorization (passed unanimously by Congress in 2024). 

We commend the bipartisan calls for greater transparency in how these decisions are being made and urge the Administration to immediately halt any further cuts. It is essential to first engage with stakeholders—patients, caregivers, researchers, and organizations like us—to ensure we protect the progress we’ve made and chart a responsible path forward.

Fiscal efficiency must not come at the expense of patients, caregivers, or the research that offers hope for a cure. We stand ready to work in partnership to find solutions that uphold both public health and financial stewardship.

Signed,

Alliance for Aging Research

American Society on Aging

Association of Population Centers

Alzheimer's Association

Alzheimer's Impact Movement

Alzheimer’s Los Angeles

Alzheimer’s Orange County

Alzheimer's San Diego

Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration

Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging

BrightFocus Foundation

Caregiver Action Network

CaringKind

Family Caregiver Alliance

Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association

Gerontological Society of America

Hilarity for Charity

International Association for Indigenous Aging

Justice in Aging

The John A. Hartford Foundation

LEAD Coalition (Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease)

LuMind IDSC Foundation

Medicare Rights Center

National Alliance for Caregiving

National Association of Social Workers

National Down Syndrome Society

National Indian Council on Aging

The National Minority Quality Forum

Ohio Council for Cognitive Health

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s