Bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to combat Alzheimer’s disease cleared the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee on May 23 with a 19-2 vote.
The measure, the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act of 2024, S. 3775, now heads to the full chamber for consideration.
“Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest and most under-recognized public health threats of our time,” said Sen. Collins, a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “Reauthorization of the [bill] will ensure communities across the country have access to resources to promote effective Alzheimer’s interventions and better cognitive health that can lead to improved health outcomes.”
Sen. Collins sponsored S. 3775 on Feb. 8 alongside three original cosponsors, including U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), to reauthorize funding for Alzheimer’s disease-related public health initiatives.
If enacted, the bill would authorize $33 million per year, in line with current appropriations, over the next five years to support Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence, and to educate the public on Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline, and brain health, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Collins’ staff.
Additionally, funding under S. 3775 would support public health cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that are awarded to state health departments to help them meet local needs in promoting brain health, reducing risk of cognitive decline, improving care for those with Alzheimer’s, and other public health activities, the summary says, and for data grants to improve the analysis and timely reporting of data on Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline, caregiving, and health disparities at the state and national levels.
Currently, roughly 6.7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease, a number that is expected to double by 2060, costing the nation more than $1.1 trillion per year, according to the bill summary.
S. 3775 has been endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association, the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.