Georgia Advocacy

16 Georgia advocates Attend Annual Advocacy Forum in Washington, DC, April 23 - 25

Sixteen advocates from Georgia attended the Advocacy Forum--each regional Program Director who manages the advocacy efforts in their Chapter regions, the state Public Policy/Advocacy staff, four Board of Governor members, four Alzheimer's Ambassadors, and advocates attended training sessions, learned best practices, and networked with advocates from other states.  Advocates met with Congressmen and Senators--to ask them to sign on as cosponsors of the HOPE for Alzheimer's Act--H.R.1386/S.738, and to ask Congress to support a strong, accountable National Alzheimer's Plan with the resources necessary to change the trajectory of the disease, including $100 million in FY2013.

Recap of Georgia's Alzheimer's Awareness Day at the Georgia State Capitol:

POLST Liability--passed and signed into law by Governor Deal on April 16.  House Bill 850 did not make it out of the Rules Committee, so language on POLST liability was added to House Bill 247.  The bill was passed and signed into law by Governor Deal on April 16.  We are now awaiting the development of the POLST form and corresponding rules and regulations being developed by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Advocacy staff are in the process now of gearing up for next year's Georgia Legislative Session.

 

National Alzheimer's Project Act/National Alzheimer's Plan 

If you would like to see the second draft copy of the National Plan, or, learn more about the National Alzheimer's Project Act or the National Plan, you may go to the Association's NAPA website and comment online at  www.alz.org/NAPA.  It is anticipated that the final National Alzheimer's Plan will be published sometime in mid-May.   

New Alzheimer's Ambassador Named:

Our National Public Policy Office in Washington, DC, which initiated the Alzheimer’s Ambassador Program, has named a new Alzheimer's Ambassador from Georgia--Rhiannon Cline--Lafayette.  Rhiannon will serve as Ambassador to Congressman Tom Graves.  She joins Gary Eklund--Marietta, Carolne Smith--Rome, Dianna Massey--Norcross, Bob Oxford--Dalton, Jim Williams--Smyrna, Atlanta Councilperson Felicia Moore--Atlanta in becoming the face of the Alzheimer's Association to Georgia's federal elected officials.  

The role of the ambassador is to become the face of the Alzheimer's Association by meeting with either the elected official or his staff quarterly, to keep the dialogue going about Alzheimer's. 

Current federal priorities include:

  • The Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer's Act (S. 738/H.R. 1386)—this bill would provide Medicare coverage for a package of services, including:
    • clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease;
    • care planning to provide those with the disease and their caregivers infomraiton about medical and non-medical options for treatment and support services;
    • Require documentation of the diagnostic evaluation and any care planning provided in an individual's primary medical record. 
  • Ensuring that the Department of Health and Human Services develops a stong, accountable National Alzheimer's Plan with the resources necessary to change the trajectory of the disease, including $100 million in FY 2013.

Interested in looking up Federal or GA Legislation?  These two sites will help:

For Federal Legislation, such as Health Care Reform:

  • Thomas: Legislative Information
    A service from the U.S. Library of Congress. Includes a schedule of current floor activities in Congress, documentation of all major legislation, summaries of bills and their status, text of the Congressional Record, committee reports, and home pages. Provides information about other Congressional Internet sites, Library of Congress Web links and a directory of e-mail addresses for members of Congress.
    See: http://thomas.loc.gov/

For Georgia Legislation:

  • To check the status of a bill in the Georgia Legislature, or to see a photo of your GA state senator or GA state representative, go to:  www.legis.state.ga.us.  On the left-hand menu bar, click on "Search Legislation" to find a specific bill.  On the same menu bar, click on "Picture Book," to find a photo of your legislator.  It sometimes takes a little time for the picture book to be updated during the first year of the two-year session.