Alzheimer’s Association Honors Sen. Collins with Humanitarian Award

Click HERE for a photo of Senator Collins speaking at the Dinner

Click HERE for photo of Senator Collins receiving the Humanitarian of the Year Award

Click HERE for a photo of Senator Collins with Michael and Mary Hartt of Hampden

Click HERE for a photo of Senator Collins with the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association

Washington, D.C.—The Alzheimer’s Association and its advocacy arm, the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM), honored U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) last night for her significant policy contributions to combat Alzheimer’s disease.  Senator Collins was presented with the prestigious 2023 AIM Humanitarian of the Year Award at the National Alzheimer’s Dinner during the 35th Annual Alzheimer’s Association AIM Advocacy Forum that was attended by nearly 1,000 Alzheimer’s advocates.

“At this year’s AIM Advocacy Forum in Washington, D.C., the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) are proud to recognize Sen. Collins with the 2023 AIM Humanitarian Award for her significant leadership in the fight to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer and AIM executive director.  “Throughout her time in office, Sen. Collins has supported and introduced critical legislation, including the bipartisan NAPA Reauthorization Act and Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act. Thank you to Sen. Collins for your longstanding commitment to the Alzheimer’s community.”

“I am grateful for this recognition and for the dedication of Alzheimer’s advocates from around the country who are truly making a positive impact,” said Senator Collins.  “While more remains to be done, we have made tremendous progress in boosting funding in recent years for Alzheimer’s research.  With continued investment and the ongoing support of members of the Alzheimer’s Association, we will not let Alzheimer’s be one of the defining diseases of our children’s generation as it has been for ours.”

As the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s disease, Senator Collins has been a champion for all those affected by Alzheimer’s.

In 2011, Senator Collins authored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) with then-Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN).  NAPA convened a panel of experts who created a coordinated strategic national plan to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease.  The expert council calculated that $2 billion per year in federal funding would be needed to make progress toward that goal.  Following the advocacy of Senator Collins, the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Alzheimer’s and dementia research funding will be a record high $3.74 billion this year. 

Senator Collins recently introduced two bipartisan bills that will help maintain the momentum to boost funding for Alzheimer’s research: the NAPA Reauthorization Act, which would modernize and extend NAPA through 2035, and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act, which would continue a requirement that the Director of the National Institutes of Health submit an annual budget directly to Congress estimating the funding necessary to fully implement NAPA’s research goals.

Senator Collins has also strongly pushed back against the Administration’s unfair decision to deny people living with Alzheimer’s access to FDA-approved treatments.  She led a bipartisan letter that was signed by 20 senators urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reconsider restrictive coverage requirements that put these promising new treatments out of reach for most patients.

6.7 million Americans – including 29,000 Mainers – are currently living with Alzheimer’s.  By 2060, barring any major breakthroughs to prevent, slow down, or cure Alzheimer’s, that number is expected to more than double to 13.8 million.  In addition to the human toll, Alzheimer’s is our nation’s most expensive disease, costing an astonishing $345 billion per year.  If we continue along this trajectory, Alzheimer’s will surpass $1 trillion in annual costs by mid-century. 

The Alzheimer's Association is a leading non-profit organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research.

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