2012 -- S 2858

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LC02415

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N

AFFIRMING THE NEED FOR A STATE PLAN FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND

RELATED DISORDERS

     Introduced By: Senators Jabour, Ruggerio, Paiva Weed, Walaska, and Gallo

     Date Introduced: April 10, 2012

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is a fatal, degenerative disease of the brain that impairs

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cognitive function, memory, and behavior; and

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is not part of the normal aging process; and

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States

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and the fifth leading cause of death for those over 65 years of age; and

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is the only leading cause of death that cannot be

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prevented, cured, or even slowed; and

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     WHEREAS, An estimated 5.4 million people nationwide have Alzheimer’s disease,

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including 200,000 individuals under the age of 65; and

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     WHEREAS, In 2010, approximately 24,000 Rhode Island residents were living with

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Alzheimer’s disease; and

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for

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an estimated sixty to eighty percent of incidence; and

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     WHEREAS, People living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders use hospital,

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nursing home, and other health and long-term care services at a high rate, resulting in high costs

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to Medicare, Medicaid, and other payers; and

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     WHEREAS, Medicaid payments for beneficiaries over the age of 65 with Alzheimer’s

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disease are nine times higher than payments for those without the disease; and

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     WHEREAS, By the year 2050, the total cost of care nationally for individuals with

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Alzheimer’s disease is expected to soar from $172 billion in 2010, to more than $1 trillion (in

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today’s dollars); and

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     WHEREAS, Medicaid’s share of that spending will increase over 400 percent during that

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time; and

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     WHEREAS, These costs do not reflect the value of unpaid care provided to those living

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with Alzheimer’s disease by family members and friends; and

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     WHEREAS, There are over 50,000 unpaid caregivers providing an estimated 60 million

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hours of uncompensated care for people living with Alzheimer’s disease; and

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     WHEREAS, Alzheimer’s disease takes a tremendous emotional toll on all whose lives it

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touches, including family members, friends, and especially the caregivers of those living with

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Alzheimer’s disease; and

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     WHEREAS, Caregiving has negative effects on the caregiver’s own employment,

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income, financial security, and health; and

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     WHEREAS, The projected growth in the aging population of Rhode Island, combined

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with the particular needs of the Alzheimer’s disease population, present a substantial and unique

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challenge to the state; and

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     WHEREAS, On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed into law the National

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Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), requiring the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and

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Human Services to establish a national Alzheimer’s Project; and

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     WHEREAS, On February 22, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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released a Draft National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which includes the goal of

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preventing or treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island has a significant opportunity to build upon this national

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momentum, as well as to identify and address the distinct needs and unique challenges to the state

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posed by Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders; now therefore be it,

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     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence

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Plantations hereby affirms the need for a state plan for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders,

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which shall serve as a comprehensive state strategy for educating the public about Alzheimer’s

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disease, collecting and analyzing statewide data related to the current and future needs of

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Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, and recommending ways to improve the provision of

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care and availability of community supports for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and their

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caregivers; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, as established in R.I.G.L.

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23-17.3, convene an Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders working group (hereafter

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“working group”), to be co-chaired by the chair of the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, the

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lieutenant governor or designee, and the director of the division of elderly affairs, for the purpose

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of developing such a state plan; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the working group consist of community stakeholders, including, but

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not limited to, members of the long-term care coordinating council; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the working group shall transmit to the governor and to the general

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assembly a state plan for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders on or before July 1, 2013; and

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be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Governor of the State of Rhode Island, the

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Lieutenant Governor of the State of Rhode Island, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

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the Chairperson of the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council, and the Director of the Division of

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Elderly Affairs.

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LC02415

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