Senator Collins Joins Bipartisan Group in Introducing Legislation to Extend Availability of Alzheimer’s Semipostal Stamp
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, joined Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in introducing legislation to authorize the current United States Postal Service (USPS) Alzheimer’s research stamp for an additional six years, providing more time to raise additional Alzheimer’s research funds for the National Institutes of Health.
“Every 65 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer’s disease. By 2050, this rate will double to every 33 seconds unless we take action,” said Senator Collins. “As a founder of the Alzheimer’s Task Force in the Senate and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I recently helped secure a $425 million increase for Alzheimer’s research—the largest increase in history—bringing the total to $2.34 billion. By allowing Americans to continue to purchase Alzheimer’s research stamps, our legislation will build on this funding to support the NIH’s efforts to combat this devastating disease.”
USPS first issued the Alzheimer’s semipostal stamp on November 30, 2017, under authority provided through the Semipostal Authorization Act. Under this law, USPS will issue five semipostal stamps for ten years, with each stamp being available for up to two years. The legislation introduced today would keep the Alzheimer’s semipostal stamp available for an additional six years without preventing USPS from issuing the next stamp.
Senator Collins, a founder of the Alzheimer’s Task Force in the Senate, recently helped secure a $425 million increase for Alzheimer’s research—the largest increase in history. In March, Senator Collins joined bipartisan groups in introducing the Younger-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Act, which would allow Alzheimer’s patients younger than age 60 to access critical support programs and services, and the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act, which would help expand Medicare beneficiaries’ access to a care planning session if they are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The rate of Americans dying from dementia has more than doubled in the United States since the year 2000. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and the risk increases with age. An estimated 5.8 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s, costing our nation $290 billion a year, including $195 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid. If we continue along this trajectory, Alzheimer’s is projected to affect nearly 14 million Americans and surpass $1 trillion in costs by 2050.
A copy of the legislation can he found HERE.
