Newt Gingrich: Alzheimer's: The fight that matters

We could save -- lives and money -- by funding brain science research.

By NEWT GINGRICH and MICHELLE STEIN

Last update: September 21, 2009 - 11:05 AM

It is easy to glance over this title, nod your head in agreement at the first few lines, and move on. But, what happens if you forget the first two lines you just read?

At first, it may be little things here and there. You're busy, so you misplaced the keys. You're tired, so you forget to shut the refrigerator door. But what happens if you can't remember the person sitting across from you at the breakfast table?

Alzheimer's disease afflicts as many as 5.3 million people in the United States. The effects of the disease are not only emotionally taxing but financially crippling. Alzheimer's accounts for a total of $148 billion in costs to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses.

But let's take this to a personal level. If you are over 50, what happens if you are one of the estimated 454,000 individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's by 2010? Do the math while you can; that is one year away. Are you ready to accept such a fate, and are your children prepared to help you in the difficult years ahead?

While you plan for retirement, checking your 401(k)s, do you consider the costs of long-term care? With Alzheimer's, the cost of life is staggering. In 2008, the economic value of the care provided by family and other unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias was roughly 9.9 million people at a cost of $94 billion -- not to mention the devastating emotional impact.

There is no cure for Alzheimer's. There are no Alzheimer's survivors. We don't even have a way to slow the beast. Here is where research funding comes into play.

Imagine the savings to you, your family, and quite frankly the entire country, if we could slow the rate of Alzheimer's. Better yet, if we discovered a cure -- a breakthrough for the disease like the vaccine for polio. The financial and social impact on this country and the lives of millions would be immense.

The problem resides on Capitol Hill and at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Cumbersome bureaucratic red tape and lack of support are often the culprits. Thankfully there are some champions for brain science research in Washington, but within the $787 billion stimulus package, only $8.5 billion went to the National Institutes of Health research on Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and heart disease. Let's pretend those were divided evenly: That calculates to slightly over $2 billion a disease. There may be a logical reason Alzheimer's research funding is low, but we'd like to hear it.

Our current health-care system should be applauded for its efforts of prevention and wellness, but it shouldn't turn a blind eye to where the majority of high health-care costs reside, in later life and with progressive diseases like Alzheimer's.

What can be done?

Members of Congress, especially those sitting on the appropriations committees, must champion and fund brain science research. We at the Center for Health Transformation hope that they take the following steps:

•By 2012, use value-based payments as opposed to fee-for-service payments to reimburse providers for at least 20 percent of health and social services for people with dementia and for 50 percent of these services by 2016.

•By 2010, establish an outcomes-oriented, project-focused Alzheimer's Solutions Project Office within the federal government.

•Create a new Food and Drug Administration model to help expedite a cure for Alzheimer's. The acceleration of medication approvals is paramount to success. Move toward a "risk benefit" model as opposed to the overly litigious system to help create fundamental change.

So let us remind you, in case you have already forgotten: Research funding in brain sciences is critical. It is about you. It is about that beautiful person sitting across from you at the table.

Newt Gingrich is a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and founder of the Center for Health Transformation. Michelle Stein is executive director of the Alzheimer's Solutions Project. This article was distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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