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Providing Hope for Alzheimer's Patients and their Families

La Prensa (San Antonio, TX) - 6/24/2015

During Alzbeimer's Awareness Month, we pay bibute and reaffirm our Lloyd Doggett commitment to the fight against Alzheimer's. The impact of the disease is borne not just by the patient, but also by their families, who face the difficult task of finding and paying for the right level of care or providing it themselves. Late last year. Tino Duran gave a brave face to this fight and at bis reception during the holiday season, I saw a flood of love and support for Tino and bis family, all who have been touched by his generosity and enduring spirit. The courage of the entire Duran family and the community of support serves as a wonderful example for the many suffering from this dreadful disease, similar to that shown by famous country singer Glen Campbell in his upcoming documentary about bis own battle, and by my former colleague in Congress, Dennis Moore from Kansas, who testified before a Congressional Committee about his experiences. All have done their part to raise awareness and funds to research for a cure.

June is Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month. I have seen the devastation of this disease firsthand and I have also visited with families with loved ones struggling with Alzheimer's at the Frank Garrett Multi-Service Center in the heart of San Antonio's Westside. I listened as they came forward with concerns about the lack of medical resources and research funding, delays in diagnosis, and the need for more support for caregivers. Though an estimated one in nine seniors has Alzheimer's, about half of them don't know it. Nearly everyone has been touched in some way by Alzheimer's, and my family felt the toll that this unforgiving disease takes when my wife's father suffered with it. That's why, as a member of the Alzheimer's Caucus, I have added my support again this Congress to the HOPE for Alzheimer's Hope Act. This bill would provide Medicare coverage for a package of services, including clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and care planning to provide newlydiagnosed individuals and their caregivers' information about treatment and support.

It is simple. We need more funding for research to win the fight against Alzheimer's. Even though Alzheimer's is the most expensive disease in the U.S., costing more than cancer and heart disease, it receives only about one-tenth of the funding spent on cancer and about onefourth of the funding spent on cardiovascular disease research. Women in their 60s are about twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's over the rest of their lives as they are to develop breast cancer. For every $26,500 that Medicare and Medicaid are spending for caring for people with Alzheimer's, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spend just $100 on Alzheimer's research. This is unacceptable and I will continue working to secure more funding for the fight against Alzheimer's. In 2014, Medicare and Medicaid spent approximately $150 billion on Alzheimer's care alone. This cost accounted for 20 percent of the overall Medicare spending m 2014. That is why I urged the President and requested increased funding for the National Institutes of Health to continue their Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative- a program aimed at advancing our understanding and treatments of different neurological diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Over the past decade, the federal government's contributions to NIH funding have failed to keep up with the rate of inflation. Irresponsible budget cuts enacted during sequestration only compounded the problem. We can do better. I am committed to promoting quality healthcare and investing in research so that families like Tino's will not have to suffer in the future. Together, we can bring greater hope of conquering Alzheimer's.

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