As the presidential nominee race increases in intensity, one critical issue facing our country is consistently missing from the rhetoric: No one is discussing the extreme financial toll that Alzheimer’s disease will continue to have on our society. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in our country and the only one of the top 10 killers that does not have a cure or a way to prevent or even slow it down. Over 700,000 Americans die from Alzheimer’s annually.
Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease. In 2015, over $266 billion will be spent in caring for people with Alzheimer’s and two-thirds of this cost is paid by Medicare and Medicaid. In other words it is paid by taxpayers. Utah’s congressional contingent is adamant about reducing federal spending. It only makes sense to find a way to reduce the cost of Alzheimer’s by finding a way to cure or at least slow the disease. I call upon Sens. Hatch and Lee and Reps. Bishop, Stewart, Chaffetz and Love to support increased funding for Alzheimer’s research and apply the “ounce of prevention” to save hundreds of billions of dollars down the road. For more information go to alz.org/Utah
Ronnie Daniel
Salt Lake City