Letter to the Editor: Writer urges Del. lawmakers not to block Alzheimer’s services

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, including 19,000 Delawareans.

As an Alzheimer’s Association advocate and caregiver, it is my honor to represent them.

I just attended the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement Advocacy Forum with 900 advocates from across the country. We rallied outside the White House and met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to call for a reversal of the administration’s decision to deny people living with Alzheimer’s access to Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs.

During my meetings, I urged our legislators to show the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services support for full access to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatment. Every day without access to these drugs, more than 2,000 people transition to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer’s, where they are no longer eligible for treatment. I also asked for support of the bipartisan effort to reauthorize the National Alzheimer’s Project Act and for the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act to ensure the nation continues to prioritize dementia, as well as the bipartisan Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act to create a more effective path to dementia care and address shortcomings in how dementia care is currently delivered.

I appreciate our legislators taking time to listen to those of us who are impacted. I urge all Delawareans to join me and the Alzheimer’s Association in encouraging those who represent us to advance policies and make progress in the fight against all dementia. To learn more about this disease and how you can join the fight, visit alzimpact.org.

Patricia Risher

Middletown