Q: Your new report estimated that soon 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease will be diagnosed each year. What implication does that have for providers?
A: Most people with Alzheimer’s disease end up in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. In fact, three-quarters of people with Alzheimer’s will die in such a facility.
Q: You’ve said not enough people have long-term care insurance coverage?
A: That’s going to have a devastating impact on society.
Q: So advocates are looking for more research funding from Congress?
A: We don’t need to cure this disease. If we could just make a dent in it, the savings would be huge. The numbers (of Alzheimer’s diagnoses) are increasing in part because people are surviving other ailments, including heart attacks, that may have killed them in the past. We’ve invested heavily in cancer and heart research and now we’re seeing the payoff.
Q: What is your big hope from the report?
A: The report should really frighten us all into action and make sure that Congress knows we need to invest in research.
Q: How much?
A: Right now the government is spending about $640 million a year on Alzheimer’s research. It seems like a lot, but we are spending over $5 billion a year on cancer, and more than $3 billion on heart disease each year. If we can just get that $640 million up to $1 billion a year, that would make a big difference.
From the April 01, 2008 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
