Senator’s Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act would improve care for the 95% of individuals with dementia that have one or more chronic conditions
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema cosponsored bipartisan legislation strengthening comprehensive care for Alzheimer’s patients and support for caregivers in Arizona and across the country.
The Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act authorizes the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a comprehensive care coordination model that would help the 95% of dementia patients who also have one or more chronic conditions – easing the burden for families while reducing health care costs.
“Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease can be costly, time-consuming, and difficult for Arizona families, especially if their loved one has other chronic health conditions. Our commonsense, bipartisan bill eases the strain on families by lowering costs and improving access to comprehensive care that coordinates all their health care needs,” said Sinema.
95% of dementia patients also have one or more other chronic conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease, or diabetes. The Sinema-backed Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act directs CMMI to test the effectiveness of a comprehensive care coordination model to improve quality of care for these individuals.
Alzheimer’s can complicate other chronic conditions, often resulting in poorer health outcomes and increased health care costs. Enhancing care coordination lessens the burden for patients and their caregivers while reducing health costs by preventing unnecessary or duplicative care.
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and in 2023, the cost of caring for them reached $345 billion. By 2050, nearly 13 million Americans could be living with Alzheimer’s, with costs reaching nearly $1 trillion. In Arizona alone, more than 150,000 individuals live with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis with over 260,000 family caregivers providing uncompensated care.