The Caring Corner®

Increase in Alzheimer’s research funding is a good thing.

May 11, 2017

The facts around Alzheimer’s are staggering. There’s no cure for this disease which is the 6th leading cause of death in the US. Care of Alzheimer’s patients currently takes 20 percent of Medicare dollars, equal to about $235 billion/year. That does not include the extra costs of caregivers paid for with families’ private funds. The costs are expected to skyrocket to more than $1 trillion annually by 2050.

The single best thing we can do is increase research funding. Congress recently approved an increase in funding for the NIH for $1 billion to $1.4 billion.  While a 40 percent increase is a huge move in the right direction, it’s still a drop in the bucket compared to the looming healthcare crisis we are facing.

 

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