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Jonathan Riskind: Alzheimer's money a good start, Collins says

When President Obama last week called for a big increase in federal spending on research into Alzheimer's disease as part of the 2013 budget he will release Monday, Sen. Susan Collins was among those applauding the news.

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Sen. Susan Collins

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The Maine Republican has watched a grandfather and two uncles, all on her father's side of the family, succumb to the grip of Alzheimer's.

Collins earlier this month helped introduce bipartisan legislation authorizing $50 million in federal funding next year for research into Alzheimer's and other chronic diseases, with the requirement that each federal dollar spent is matched by $2 in private money.

But Collins says her work on the issue isn't just driven by the personal anguish experienced by her and countless other families who helplessly watch loved ones slip away into a fog of dementia.

It's a public policy no-brainer to dramatically ratchet up the federal investment into Alzheimer's research, Collins said in an interview last week.

But Obama's proposal to add $80 million to the current $450 million spent on federal Alzheimer's research and her bill seeking $50 million in federal dollars to leverage another $100 million in private spending are merely good first steps, Collins said.

More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's and that number is going to grow exponentially as baby boomers age.

In 2011, it cost the health care system $183 billion to care for Alzheimer's patients, an $11 billion increase over 2010. Unless a cure or at least better treatments that slow the progression of the disease is found, by 2050, 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer's and the cost of their care will total $1 trillion annually, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

If you think Medicare and Medicaid are straining budgets now, just wait, says Collins, a co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease.

Collins notes that what's currently spent on Alzheimer's research pales in comparison with the billions of federal dollars allocated for cancer, HIV/AIDS and heart disease. She's not calling for less money spent on those diseases, just more on Alzheimer's.

"My interest far transcends the personal issue," Collins said.

When it comes to the federal money spent on diseases like AIDS, "look at the difference, the wonderful difference, made in producing therapies that have prolonged life," Collins said. "Those have been worthwhile investments that have led to far better treatments, delaying the onsets and ultimately reducing health-care costs."

And that's the public policy point when it comes to the case for spending more on Alzheimer's, Collins says.

"We spend all this money on treating people, but we don't invest enough in trying to prevent or delay the onset or come up with better therapies for Alzheimer's," Collins said.

Dr. Laurel Coleman of Manchester, a geriatrician and expert in Alzheimer's disease, is familiar with the work Obama and Collins are doing on Alzheimer's.

Coleman was nominated by Collins and appointed by the Obama administration to serve on a federal panel charged with developing a strategic plan for how the federal government can best tackle Alzheimer's. The panel is part of the National Alzheimer's Project Office created last year by legislation co-authored by Collins and former Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana.

"This is a very expensive disease," Coleman said in a phone interview last week from Uganda, where she was doing medical volunteer work. "It is very under-funded with the aging of the population."

Coleman said she's encouraged by what Collins and Obama are doing, but echoed Collins' sentiments that more will be needed.

"It probably will take more than that to get where we need to get and make a difference, but those are great first steps," Coleman said. "These two efforts and our work on a national plan for Alzheimer's disease represent an encouraging boost to find a cure and improve care for the millions of Americans affected."

MaineToday Media Washington Bureau Chief Jonathan Riskind can be contacted at 791-6280 or at:

jriskind@mainetoday.com

Twitter: Twitter.com/MaineTodayDC