The next President of the United States will have the opportunity to lead America toward fundamental advances in the fight against Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
I urge all candidates to:
- Publicly address the issue of Alzheimer's
- Direct their respective parties to formally address this devastating disease within their party platform
- Continue to build upon a strong National Alzheimer's Plan and state plans
In contrast to the encouraging progress against many other major diseases, Alzheimer’s remains a terminal disease with no survivors.
Nationally, more than 20 million individuals are impacted by this disease. It has also become the country’s most expensive disease. The cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias is estimated to total $226 billion in 2015, increasing to $1.1 trillion (in today’s dollars) by mid-century. And today, nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on people with Alzheimer's and other dementias.
As an American who will participate in the upcoming election I urge all candidates to take bold steps forward in the fight against Alzheimer's!
