Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Advocates for Increased Federal Funding, Advancement of National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease
By a
Recently,
Fuschillo underscored the need for this funding by emphasizing the disparity between federal dollars spent on Alzheimer's disease and those spent on other disease states including heart disease and cancer. In FY 2013, the
"Without the same investment in combating dementia, costs will continue to rise at unprecedented rates and promising research will remain unfunded, slowing scientific progress and putting Americans at risk for this terminal disease," he noted.
AFA is also submitting recommendations to the
Among AFA's suggestions is that the
"Evidence has shown that with early detection, individuals with dementia can receive available therapy earlier in the disease progression when most available treatments for Alzheimer's disease are most helpful," said Fuschillo. "Early detection can also afford affected individuals the opportunity to participate in advance care planning discussions with their families."
Brief cognitive screenings, also known as memory screenings, are becoming more prevalent, in part due to increased awareness of Alzheimer's disease and the fact that such screenings are now included in the annual
In addition, AFA supports legislation seeking the expansion of publicly-funded "participant-directed" programs that would allow individuals to hire family members as paid caregivers; federal tax credits for primary family caregivers; income tax deductions for out-of-pocket costs associated with long-term care services; greater access to federally funded home- and community-based care services such as adult day programs and diagnostic and care planning services; incentives for employers to adopt family-friendly workplace policies; and qualifying all people with Alzheimer's disease, regardless of age, for
"Our foundation has worked tirelessly to optimal provide care and services to individuals with Alzheimer's disease and their families since its founding in 2002," said Fuschillo. "We will continue to do so this year, both directly and through working with federal and local government officials to provide research and funding for both care and, ultimately, a cure."
Keywords for this news article include: Dementia,
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