Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 29, 2024 11:52 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Maureen E. Madden and Rep. Patty Kim, Rep. Steve Samuelson |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Alzheimer’s and Dementia Infrastructure |
| In the near future, we plan to introduce companion legislation to Senate Bill 840 to establish an infrastructure of full-time state agency positions dedicated to supporting dementia initiatives across the state that can help mitigate the growing impact of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD). Currently, there are more than 282,000 Pennsylvanians aged 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s, resulting in $3.7 billion in Medicaid costs to care for these individuals. By 2025, the number of individuals in Pennsylvania living with Alzheimer’s is expected to increase to 320,000 with the total Medicaid costs to care for them expected to increase by over 10%. Beyond 2025, these numbers are only expected to increase further. Pennsylvania released its first comprehensive ADRD State Plan in 2014 and a Task Force was appointed through the Department of Aging in May 2018 to lead its implementation. Despite these efforts however, little progress has been made in a coordinated and collaborative way to improve the state’s overall approach to addressing ADRD throughout the Commonwealth. This growing public health crisis drains the physical, emotional and financial health of all those impacted including state government resources. Different government agencies administer programs and initiatives that are critical to people living with dementia, but these are predominately siloed with multiple state agencies working separately from one another. However, everyone can agree that the impact of this disease extends well beyond those aged 60 and older, which is why a coordinated, interdepartmental approach that incorporates a broad spectrum of public-private partnerships is necessary to effectively and efficiently address the multi-faceted challenges of this disease. Our legislation will create a permanent ADRD office and establish an advisory committee, both within the Department of Aging, to coordinate across state agencies, advocate policy, and leverage resources to better respond to the unique and complex needs of those living with Alzheimer's and other dementia and the systems that support them. Please join us in co-sponsoring this very important legislation. |
Introduced as HB2400