Washington, D.C. – May 16, 2020 – UsAgainstAlzheimer’s issued the following statement applauding inclusion of sick and paid leave protections for family caregivers for older adults in the HEROS Act legislation passed yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives. The HEROS Act is the latest legislation to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia who are cared for by more than 16 million family caregivers, who provide an estimated 18.4 billion hours of unpaid care with a total value of $244 billion.  

“The HEROS Act provides critically needed paid and sick leave protections for caregivers of older family members with serious medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“UsAgainstAlzheimer’s thanks House leadership for its work on the HEROS Act to close gaps in the paid sick days and paid leave provisions for family caregivers of older adults. These caregivers had been left out in the earlier federal laws passed to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects.

“The crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive paid family leave policy to support vulnerable families, including the nearly 16 million family caregivers providing dementia-related care. A recent UsAgainstAlzheimer’s survey found that two in three dementia caregivers think Congress should make paid family and medical leave a priority.

“Protections for adult caregivers in the HEROS Act would be an important first step towards a comprehensive paid leave policy to address the growing national challenge of dementia and family care.”

###

About UsAgainstAlzheimer’s

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) is a disruptive advocacy and research-focused organization that is pushing for expanding treatments and accelerating towards a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. UsA2’s transformative programming is laser-focused on proactive brain health across the lifespan and understanding what matters most across the lived experiences of those affected by Alzheimer’s in the service of preventing, treating and curing this disease.  We are working to ensure that all communities have their voices heard and get a chance to be brain healthy from the earliest years while building resistance against possible cognitive decline.