MUST READS

A March 1, 2016 ArkCity.net opinion piece by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) underscored the need to invest in Alzheimer’s research. According to Sen. Moran, “I support medical research because if we can find effective treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia, we can extend quality of life for patients and also significantly reduce the cost of caring for them in years to come…Alzheimer’s has become a disease to define a generation, but if we focus and prioritize our research capacity, it does not need to continue as an inevitable part of aging. Medical research offers hope to those individuals and families affected by this terrible disease, and hope for our nation’s financial future.”

A March 1, 2016 STAT News article reported on the disaffiliation of several chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association over “misplaced priorities.” According to the article, “Prominent chapters in Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, and elsewhere have pulled out of the national association in recent months. The defectors accuse administrators of spending lavishly on salaries and travel, retaliating against breakaway chapters, and focusing too much on raising money for research and lobbying at the expense of local programs, such as exercise classes and outings for Alzheimer’s patients. The depths of the discord emerged in interviews by STAT with more than a dozen current and former association officials.”

A March 1, 2016 NBC News article reported that “Keeping an active mind with intellectual pursuits in midlife may delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease symptoms, but it does not appear to prevent the physical changes in the brain for most people, a new study finds.”

A March 1, 2016 MedPageToday.com article reported that a Congressional briefing hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care called an end-of-life planning bill “must do” legislation. According to the article, “From a cost perspective, Rotella said the absence of adequate quality measures for patients with multiple chronic conditions who aren't going to be cured is baffling. ‘They're the ones that ACOs need to treat the best if we're going to get the results we're looking for.’”

ICYMI: A February 18, 2016 Wall Street Journal article reported that lengthy hospice care is driving up the cost of Medicare, a trend exacerbated by ailments like dementia. According to the article, “Between 2005 and 2013, about 107,000 patients received hospice care for an average of nearly 1,000 days spread out over four or more calendar years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Medicare billing records. They cost Medicare 14% of its overall hospice spending, even though they accounted for just 1.3% of its hospice patients…Medicare’s hospice program, which has been around for 33 years, is supposed to be only for patients who doctors certify are likely to die within six months, or about 180 days. Today, care is routinely being extended not only to those with terminal cancer—the program’s original focus—but to patients with an array of ailments, including dementia, whose declines can take years.” [behind paywall] 

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT

A March 1, 2016 Times of San Diego article reported on progress in San Diego County in the fight against Alzheimer’s coordinated by the county Board of Supervisors. According to the article, “So far, according to Jacob, the Alzheimer’s Project has strengthened the safety net through improvements in the Sheriff’s Department’s Take Me Home program, launched a research incubator for brain researchers, won a $2.5 million grant for San Diego State University to boost training for the next generation of geriatric health care workers, and developed the region’s first standards of care.”

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