Senators Stabenow, Capito Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Care for Alzheimer’s Patients
Senators Stabenow and Capito Join to Help People Struggling with Alzheimer’s and Their Families
Thursday, March 02, 2023WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today introduced a comprehensive bill to help families across the country dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. The Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act would help the 95% of individuals with dementia that have one or more other chronic conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.
The bipartisan bill reduces medical complications for these patients by creating a new way to fund dementia care through Medicare. This new model of managing care can help reduce hospitalizations and emergency department visits and delay nursing home placement, which improves the quality of life for patients and makes treatment more affordable.
One in ten seniors in the United States struggles with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is expected to double to 14 million Americans in the next 30 years.
“The needs of someone with Alzheimer’s disease and their family members who are caring for them are unique and especially challenging. Our bill takes a comprehensive approach in addressing these special health care needs. It creates a model for innovative planning, high standards of care and support for caregivers while reducing costs through better coordination,” said Senator Stabenow.
“As the number of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia continues to increase, it is so important that we continue to look for ways to better care for them,” Senator Capito said. “By enhancing the coordination of this care, we can lessen the burden for patients and their caregivers while reducing health care costs by preventing unnecessary physician visits or duplicate tests. As someone who served as the primary caregiver for parents living with Alzheimer’s disease, I know personally just how needed this model is.”
“On behalf of individuals impacted by Alzheimer’s and other dementia, thank you Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Shelley Moore Capito for reintroducing the bipartisan Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer and AIM executive director. “This critical legislation will streamline today’s complicated health care maze for people living with dementia and their caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association looks forward to working with you to build momentum and grow bipartisan support for this innovative legislation.”
The Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act improves the lives of those living with Alzheimer’s disease. The bill would:
- Provide comprehensive care management services, including monitoring of additional health conditions, medication management and care coordination.
- Establish high standards of care by evaluating the quality of care provided to patients, including clinical outcomes, patient and caregiver experience, and utilization of care.
- Eliminate cost-sharing for patients and pay providers a monthly amount based on the complexity and quality of the patient’s care. It would allow both large and small providers to participate, including hospitals, community health centers and rural health clinics.
- Ensure that caregivers are supported and able to participate in the coordination and management of care.
- Require outreach to underrepresented populations, as well as culturally appropriate care.
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