The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Kim Lindlof is the president and CEO of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce.
Alzheimer’s disease is a thief and a killer.
It robs people of their memories, it steals time, energy, and money from families, and it is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. The numbers and the impact are staggering. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 7.4 million Americans 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia, including nearly 30,000 people in Maine. I am sure that you know someone who is or has suffered from this devastating disease.
The toll on families is devastating. More than 66,000 Maine people helped to care for someone they love suffering from Alzheimer’s, accounting for more than 100 million hours of unpaid care. The emotional costs, the societal costs, the health costs, and the economic costs are enormous and projected to grow as our population ages and the percentage of people 65 and older increases.
In terms of time and money, caregivers, on average, provide 1,543 hours of unpaid help to people with Alzheimer’s, which has an estimated value of more than $446.3 billion in 2025. The total lifetime costs of care for someone with dementia are about $405,000. All told, Alzheimer’s and related dementia costs the U.S. health care system more than $780 billion a year.
Today’s reality doesn’t have to be our destiny. There have been incredible scientific advances in the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer’s. What’s missing is a concerted, dedicated national effort to invest in Alzheimer’s research, treatment, and prevention, and a significant public-private partnership with the shared goal of diffusing this pending health care and economic time bomb.
China has recognized the catastrophic nature of this issue. Policymakers there have recognized the threat that Alzheimer’s represents for the country’s aging population. Fifteen Chinese government departments, including the National Health Commission, are taking part in the program, which has also attracted hundreds of millions of dollars of direct investment to hit several targets by 2030.
To maintain our advantage and to keep more Americans healthy, we can’t afford not to take aggressive action. Our competitiveness and our economy are at stake. The United States needs a similar plan, directed and funded by the federal government in partnership with private and non-profit organizations, to turn the tide on Alzheimer’s.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease and the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Throughout her time in Washington, Collins has been a champion in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia. With the White House focused on its “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, now is the time to turn broad bipartisan support for a new national commitment to Alzheimer’s into action.
In addition to funding, a national approach should have several goals, including a reduction in the barriers to research and innovation, an increase in awareness and adoption of lifestyle changes that reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, a focus on early detection and accurate diagnosis, and improved access to life-saving treatments and screenings that are currently hard to access.
For anyone who has lived through the years-long suffering that often accompanies an Alzheimer’s diagnosis or anyone who has been diagnosed, the pain, fear, and uncertainty can be overwhelming. But we don’t have to accept that more and more of us and the people we love are conscripted to this fate.
The nation was recently inspired by the incredible bravery and achievement of the Artemis II NASA mission. Traveling around the moon and back, the mission is a reminder of what our country can accomplish when we empower and unleash our unmatched scientific power against a defined challenge.
It’s time the U.S. launches a sustained, well-funded national mission to take on Alzheimer’s, to improve and save lives, and to protect our families from an ever-growing crisis. The costs are too high to accept the status quo. There’s a better way.
