Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, M.D. recently penned an opinion letter on Forbes.com in which he wrote, “Alzheimer’s disease has been notoriously challenging, but researchers are committed to tackling the problem with the right funding.”

Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death among the top 10 in the U.S. without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression — yet.

In addition to the human toll of the disease on the more than 100,000 Washingtonians living with Alzheimer’s and their more than 300,000 caregivers, Alzheimer’s is the most expensive condition in the nation, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

Nearly one in five Medicare dollars is spent on a person with Alzheimer’s and, according to a new study, the cost of Alzheimer’s to the nation will increase fivefold by mid-century. We must head off this human and fiscal disaster by finding a treatment and cure.

I urge Rep. Derek Kilmer to support an additional $300 million for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2016 to help save millions of lives and trillions of dollars.

Gail Bosch
Bremerton