A demand for dementia action

More than one-quarter of all hospitalizations of people with dementia are preventable, costing Medicare nearly $2.6 billion a year. What if those funds could be redirected to provide needed health care services? Congress can help make this happen and, at the same time, support Colorado families struggling with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (HR 4256) would create Alzheimer’s Centers of Excellence across the country. These centers would help increase early detection and diagnosis of dementia, support family care planning activities, and identify ways to prevent avoidable hospitalizations. This assistance would be invaluable to the nearly 320,000 Coloradans living with dementia or caring for a loved one with it.

My family has been impacted by Alzheimer’s. My grandfather with the disease, and my parents as caregivers would have been directly impacted by these two bills. It would have been a game changer for our family to have these resources.

Six of Colorado’s nine members of Congress have cosponsored this important legislation. I call on Gov.-elect Jared Polis to take this final action to support Alzheimer’s families in Congress by joining them today. Families like mine are counting on the BOLD Act passing this year. Alzheimer’s won’t wait until next year — neither should Congress.

Meaghan Ziegler

Frisco

Federal Ambassador, Alzheimer’s Association Colorado

Practice Manager, Ebert Family Clinic