Senator Collins Announces $200,000 to Combat Alzheimer’s Disease in Maine

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Aging Committee and a Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, announced that $200,000 has been awarded to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), in partnership with the Maine Office of Aging and Disability Service, to establish a comprehensive approach to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and expand public health partner initiatives on research, clinical education, and caregiver support. 

“Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest and most under-recognized public health threats of our time.  Millions of Americans and thousands of Mainers are living with this disease, and that number is soaring as our overall population grows older and people live longer,” said Senator Collins.  “This funding, awarded through the BOLD Act that I authored, will support an expansion of our modern infrastructure for the prevention, treatment, and care of Alzheimer’s and related dementias.”

The funding was awarded through the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, legislation that Senator Collins authored.  The BOLD Act authorized $100 million over five years to develop a public health approach that will improve prevention, treatment, and care for Alzheimer’s disease.

Approximately 5.5 million Americans—and 28,000 Mainers—are living with Alzheimer’s.  This disease costs the United States more than $277 billion per year, including $186 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid.  Without further action, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s is expected to triple to as many as 14 million by 2050, costing the nation more than $1.1 trillion per year. 

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