The lame duck Congress has turned into quite an activist group of legislators, not only because they passed the Bush era tax extensions. Many believe the tax deal will come to represent a singular historical watershed , both for its contribution to economic growth, job creation and fiscal sanity, and as the first consensus agreement in many years not only between the Democrats and Republicans but also across the liberal/conservative ideological divide.
Less visible, but perhaps with even more profound impact in the longer term, the House and Senate last week passed The National Alzheimer’s Project Act , also now on President Obama’s desk waiting his signature. The legislation is ambitious, but as Senator Susan Collins commented in the New York Times, it is as important for its effect on fiscal and economic sustainability as on the health of the victims of Alzheimer’s: “The legislation was driven by the rapidly rising number of people with Alzheimer’s — about 5.3 million now, and expected to triple by 2050. The cost of their care to Medicare and Medicaid was about $170 billion last year. By 2050, Ms. Collins said, “it will grow to $800 billion a year, more than the military budget.”
Should the President sign it into law, America will have a national plan for Alzheimer’s much like other governments, including France, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Japan, India. And like those countries which have already been addressing one of the most serious fiscal and health consequences of the 21st century’s phenomenon of Aging populations, America would get its own National Alzheimer’s Project within the Department of Health and Human Services. We, too would have a national call to action and a coordinated approach to research, early detection, treatment and care giving.
If the Tax Deal consensus -- 81 – 19 in the Senate, 277-148 in the House – led to President Obama’s rapid signature yesterday, the Alzheimer’s Project’s cross party, cross ideology, and cross American support ought to prompt his signature on this bill.
Michael W. Hodin, Ph.D., is Managing Director, The High Lantern Group, Adjunct Senior Fellow at The Council on Foreign Relations, and Executive Director of The Global Coalition on Aging.
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