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AART:
Click here to access Alzheimer's Advocacy Reporting & Trends (AART), our online reporting tool for interactions with members of Congress.
e-Advocacy:
Please sign up online so we can contact you by e-mail to let you know about important state or federal action items, alerts, activities and events that need the support of your elected representatives.
Upcoming Events
Nevada State Advocacy Day:
March 16, 2015 | State Legislative Building, 401 South Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701
More information posted when available.
Contact: Jacob Harmon, jharmon@alz.org
National Advocacy Forum:
March 22-25, 2015 | Washington Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C.
Gather with advocates from all fifty states to learn about and advocate with Members of Congress for a world without Alzheimer’s. The first two days of the Forum are spent learning from speakers including government officials and senior policy staffers. The last day of the Forum is spent meeting in teams with members of Congress and their staff, where we emphasize that Alzheimer's cannot wait. 2015 Forum registration information will be posted when available. A limited number of scholarships are available through the chapter to help offset travel expenses.
To apply, contact your Regional policy lead or jrothhaar@alz.org.
California State Advocacy Day:
April 29, 2015 | Sacramento
Each year in Sacramento the Alzheimer’s Association holds an Advocacy Day. This event is crucial to advancing our legislative efforts at the state level. Volunteer advocates from throughout California gather at the State Capitol and meet with members of the California legislature to ensure that our policy priorities are addressed. All are welcome to participate in this event, as there is no tool more powerful than your personal stories.
Registration information will be posted when available.
What We’re Working On
Federal Policy
Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in America, with costs set to skyrocket in the years ahead. For Medicare and Medicaid, treatments equal savings. In 2014 the total cost of Alzheimer’s will be $214 billion, including $150 billion to Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, only 0.25% of this total has been committed to Alzheimer’s research, the only path to reducing this cost.
This is why we are advocating at the state and national levels for critical research funding to find a cure, and public policies to improve the quality of care for those with the disease and support for their caregivers.
>> Find out who represents you in Congress
Our 2014 Federal Priorities:
- Increase the commitment to Alzheimer’s research: Chronic underinvestment in Alzheimer's research means only 6% of eligible studies can be funded.
- Ensure accountability in the National Alzheimer’s Plan (Alzheimer's Accountability Act)
- To find out if your Member of Congress has cosponsored the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, view the list of current co-sponsors; you can view just the co-sponsors from your state by clicking on your state's name on the left of the page.
- Click here to ask your Member of Congress to cosponsor the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act
- Improve access to diagnosis and care planning (HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act)
- To find out if your Member of Congress has cosponsored the HOPE Act, view the list of current co-sponsors in the House and Senate
- Click here to ask your member of Congress to cosponsor the HOPE Act
>> Our 2014 Federal Legislative Champions:
- On July 8, 2014 Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) joined with Representatives Maxine Waters and Peter Roskam (IL) to address the financial and emotional impact of Alzheimer's disease and the need for greater research funding. Watch their full exchange here, which begins at approximately 1:49.00.
- Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA) gave a floor speech last week (w/c 12/1/14) that helped raise awareness of Alzheimer's and the potential economic impact it will have if funding isn't prioritised for research.
State Policy
To achieve meaningful progress, states must tackle Alzheimer's not only as an aging issue, but also as a public health crisis. Alzheimer's disease is a pivotal public health battle, and state governments stand on the front line. The Alzheimer's Association calls on state policymakers to take bold action to confront this epidemic, focusing on four key priorities:
>> Our 2014 State Legislative Champions
In June 2014, California State Senator Ellen M. Corbett (D - East Bay) presented a Resolution recognizing Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month on the State Senator Floor. At her invitation, she was joined on the Floor by three Alzheimer's advocates from her district and neuroscientist Dr. Bill Jagust from UC Berkeley and introduced the 3 Alzheimer's advocates from her district to the full Senate.
California
- Find out who represents you in the California Legislature
- Data on Alzheimer's in California: statewide
- California’s five Alzheimer’s Association chapters work together to advance statewide public policy goals through the California Council. 2014 has been a thoroughly productive year for the Alzheimer's Association in California.
- 2015 State Policy Platform
- State Plan: In 2011, the Alzheimer’s Association and California Department of Health and Human Services released the California State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease, which includes recommendations to California policymakers to help California prepare for the coming Alzheimer’s epidemic and improve conditions for people with the disease and their families. The components of the State Plan are continuously reviewed by the California Council, and our California legislative priorities are guided by the plan’s key recommendations. Read our 2014 Year End Legislative Report outlining the successes we have been able to implement in California.
- Coordinated Care Initiative or
Cal MediConnect: We are working closely
with the California Health and Human Services Agency to ensure that all managed care plans in all 7 participating counties in Cal MediConnect have at least one
care coordination staff trained in dementia care management. Here is a summary of our role in this project.
Nevada
- Find out who represents you in the Nevada Legislature
- Data on Alzheimer's and cognitive impairment in Nevada
- State Plan: In 2013, the Nevada Legislative Committee on Health Care released the Nevada State Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which includes 21 recommendations to Nevada policymakers to help Nevada prepare for the coming Alzheimer’s epidemic and improve conditions for people with the disease and their families. A state Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease is currently meeting to discuss options for implementing those recommendations; you can read more information about the Task Force here.
- 2015 State Policy Platform - DRAFT
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Facts and Figures
Data on Alzheimer's in your state and county
You can also estimate the number of people in your county with Alzheimer's by using the 2010 US Census data on the number of people in your county 65+. Start by selecting your state on the map, then select your county at the top left, then click Browse Data Sets at the top right, then select Demographic Profile. Scroll down to see the total number of residents 65+. Coupled with the fact that 1 in 9 Americans 65+ has Alzheimer’s, this will give you a rough estimate of the number of people with the disease in your county. There is also My Congressional District, which gives you access to view statistics covering age, employment, education, and much more.
Volunteer to advocate for a world without Alzheimer's
What does an advocacy volunteer do?
By becoming an advocacy volunteer, you can play a vital role in our efforts to strengthen federal, state and local policy makers’ commitment to end this devastating disease. Advocacy volunteers play an important role in improving the quality of care and quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families by working to improve dementia care and services; improve access to community-based care; improve quality care in residential settings; and expand funding for research and public programs serving people with dementia.
Listen to what our advocacy volunteers have to say about their experiences participating in advocacy activities:
Each of our Regional offices has a Policy Committees, teams of volunteer advocates who advise and support regional staff in advocating for local, state and national policy priorities.
Alzheimer’s Legislative Teams and Ambassadors are grassroots volunteers selected to serve as the Association’s primary messengers for their member of Congress. They work directly with Chapter staff to build relationships with their Member of Congress through personal contacts, meetings and other activities.
Learn more about the Alzheimer's Association's Advocacy Volunteer Program
>> Read blog posts by Karen, one of our Advocacy volunteers.
>> Read blog posts by Sherrie, one of our Advocacy volunteers.
Early Stage Involvement:
Individuals in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease are among our most powerful, influential advocates. A person who is living with Alzheimer's and chooses to raise their voice against the disease not only sends a powerful message to legislators at the state and federal level, but helps remove stigma and negative assumptions associated with Alzheimer's disease.
If you are interested in becoming an advocacy volunteer, please contact Jessica Rothhaar at jrothhaar@alz.org or 925.284.7942 ext. 1205.
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