The Alzheimer’s Association “2018 Alzheimer’s Disease Fact and Figures” report reveals that for the second consecutive year the total cost of care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will exceed a quarter of a trillion dollars, amounting to $277 billion in 2018.

In Washington state, there are over 110,000 people living with Alzheimer’s. I am a volunteer with the Alzheimer’s Association, living in Grays Harbor and working to bring increased public attention to this crisis.

Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in the country. Medicare and Medicaid cover the lion’s share — $186 billion or 67 percent of the total health care and long term care payments for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Protecting these programs is vital. Finding a treatment that delays the onset of Alzheimer’s will prevent the cost of the disease from engulfing Medicare and Medicaid.

National Institutes of Health scientists in the Professional Judgment Budget recommended that Congress increase funding of Alzheimer’s and dementia research by over $425 million in fiscal year 2019.

The financial toll of this disease — on individuals living with the disease, their families and the community — is too high. I urge Congressman Derek Kilmer to continue his support for people with dementia and those who care for them by working to pass these needed funds.

Mark Stensager

Aberdeen