I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1560 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to fund breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s 
disease research while providing more help to caregivers and increasing 
public education about prevention. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2007 
Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to fund break-
throughs in Alzheimer’s disease research while providing 
more help to caregivers and increasing public education 
about prevention. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alzheimer’s Break-
through Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder that de-
stroys cells in the brain. The disease is the leading 
cause of dementia, a condition that involves gradual 
memory loss, decline in the ability to perform rou-
tine tasks, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss 
of language skills, impairment of judgment, and per-
sonality changes. As the disease progresses, people 
with Alzheimer’s disease become unable to care for 
themselves. The loss of brain cells eventually leads 
to the failure of other systems in the body. 
(2) An estimated 4,500,000 Americans have 
Alzheimer’s disease and 1 in 10 individuals have a 
family member with the disease. By 2050, the num-
ber of individuals with the disease could range from 
13,000,000 to 16,000,000 unless science finds a way 
to prevent or cure the disease. 
(3) One in 10 people over the age of 65, and 
nearly half of those over the age of 85 have Alz-
heimer’s disease. Younger people also get the dis-
ease. 
(4) The Alzheimer’s disease process may begin 
in the brain as many as 20 years before the symp-
toms of Alzheimer’s disease appear. An individual 
will live an average of 8 years and as many as 20 
once the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear. 
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(5) The average lifetime cost of care for an in-
dividual with Alzheimer’s disease is $170,000. 
(6) 
In 
2005, 
Medicare 
alone 
spent 
$91,000,000,000 for the care of individuals with 
Alzheimer’s disease and this amount is projected to 
increase to $160,000,000,000 in 2010. 
(7) Ninety-five percent of Medicare beneficiaries 
with Alzheimer’s disease have one or more other 
chronic conditions that are common in the elderly, 
coronary heart disease (30 percent), congestive heart 
failure (28 percent), diabetes (21 percent), and 
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (17 percent). 
(8) Seven in 10 individuals with Alzheimer’s 
disease live at home. While almost 75 percent of 
home care is provided by family and friends, the av-
erage annual cost of paid care for people with Alz-
heimer’s disease at home is $19,000 per year. Al-
most all families pay this cost out of pocket. 
(9) Half of all nursing home residents have Alz-
heimer’s disease or a related disorder. The average 
annual cost of Alzheimer’s disease nursing home 
care is more than $70,000. Medicaid pays half of 
the total nursing home bill and helps 2 out of 3 resi-
dents pay for their care. Medicaid expenditures for 
nursing home care for people with Alzheimer’s dis-
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ease are estimated to increase from $21,000,000,000 
in 2005 to $24,000,000,000 in 2010. 
(10) In fiscal year 2007, the Federal Govern-
ment will spend an estimated $642,000,000 on Alz-
heimer’s disease research. If the United States 
achieves its research goals (preventing the onset of 
Alzheimer’s disease in those at risk and treating and 
delaying progression of the disease in those who 
have symptoms), annual Medicare savings would be 
$51,000,000,000 by 2015 and $88,000,000,000 by 
2020. 
Annual 
Medicaid 
savings 
would 
be 
$10,000,000,000 in 2015 and $17,000,000,000 by 
2020 and the projected number of cases of Alz-
heimer’s disease can be reduced by 40 percent by 
the middle of the century. 
(11) An analysis by the Montefiore Medical 
Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine 
estimated that the annual value of the informal care 
system is $306,000,000,000. Family caregiving 
comes at enormous physical, emotional, and financial 
sacrifice, putting the whole system at risk. 
(12) One in 8 Alzheimer’s disease caregivers be-
comes ill or injured as a direct result of caregiving. 
One in 3 uses medication for problems related to 
caregiving. Older caregivers are 3 times more likely 
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to become clinically depressed than others in their 
age group. 
(13) Elderly spouses strained by caregiving are 
63 percent more likely to die during a given 4-year 
period than other spouses their age. 
(14) Almost 3 of 4 caregivers are women. One 
in 3 has children or grandchildren under the age of 
18 living at home. Caregiving leaves them less time 
for other family members and they are much more 
likely to report family conflicts because of their 
caregiving role. 
(15) Most Alzheimer’s disease caregivers work 
outside the home before beginning their caregiving 
careers, but caregiving forces them to miss work, cut 
back to part-time, take less demanding jobs, choose 
early retirement, or give up work altogether. As a 
result, in 2002, Alzheimer’s disease cost American 
business an estimated $36,500,000,000 in lost pro-
ductivity, as well as an additional $24,600,000,000 
in business contributions to the total cost of care. 
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TITLE I—INCREASING THE FED-
ERAL COMMITMENT TO ALZ-
HEIMER’S RESEARCH 
SEC. 101. DOUBLING NIH FUNDING FOR ALZHEIMER’S DIS-
EASE RESEARCH. 
For the purpose of conducting and supporting re-
search on Alzheimer’s disease (including related activities 
under subpart 5 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285e et seq.)), there are authorized 
to be appropriated $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, 
and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2009 through 2012. 
SEC. 102. PRIORITY TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE RESEARCH. 
Section 443 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 285e) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The general’’ and inserting 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The general’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) PRIORITIES.—The Director of the Institute 
shall, in expending amounts appropriated to carry out this 
subpart, give priority to conducting and supporting Alz-
heimer’s disease research.’’. 
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SEC. 103. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE PREVENTION INITIATIVE. 
Section 443 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 285e), as amended by section 102, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) PREVENTION TRIALS.—The Director of the In-
stitute shall increase the emphasis on the need to conduct 
Alzheimer’s disease prevention trials within the National 
Institutes of Health. 
‘‘(d) NEUROSCIENCE INITIATIVE.—The Director of 
the Institute shall ensure that Alzheimer’s disease is main-
tained as a high priority for the existing neuroscience ini-
tiative.’’. 
SEC. 104. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE CLINICAL RESEARCH. 
(a) CLINICAL RESEARCH.—Subpart 5 of part C of 
title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285e 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 445J. ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE CLINICAL RESEARCH. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Institute, 
pursuant to section 444(d), shall conduct and support co-
operative clinical research regarding Alzheimer’s disease. 
Such research shall include— 
‘‘(1) investigating therapies, interventions, and 
agents to detect, treat, slow the progression of, or 
prevent Alzheimer’s disease; 
‘‘(2) enhancing the national infrastructure for 
the conduct of clinical trials; 
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‘‘(3) developing and testing novel approaches to 
the design and analysis of such trials; 
‘‘(4) facilitating the enrollment of patients for 
such trials, including patients from diverse popu-
lations; 
‘‘(5) developing improved diagnostics and 
means of patient assessment for Alzheimer’s disease; 
‘‘(6) the conduct of clinical trials on potential 
therapies, including readily available compounds 
such as herbal remedies and other alternative treat-
ments; 
‘‘(7) research to develop better methods of early 
diagnosis, including the use of current imaging tech-
niques; and 
‘‘(8) other research as determined appropriate 
by the Director of the Institute, the Alzheimer’s Dis-
ease Centers and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Cen-
ters established under section 445. 
‘‘(b) EARLY
DIAGNOSIS
AND
DETECTION
RE-
SEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Insti-
tute, in consultation with the directors of other rel-
evant institutes and centers of the National Insti-
tutes of Health, shall conduct, or make grants for 
the conduct of, research related to the early detec-
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tion, diagnosis, and prevention of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease and of mild cognitive impairment or other po-
tential precursors to Alzheimer’s disease. 
‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—The research described in 
paragraph (1) may include the evaluation of diag-
nostic tests and imaging techniques. 
‘‘(3) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Director of the 
Institute, in cooperation with the heads of other rel-
evant Federal agencies, shall conduct a study, and 
submit to Congress a report, to estimate the number 
of individuals with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease 
(those diagnosed before the age of 65) and related 
dementias in the United States, the causes of early- 
onset dementia, and the unique problems faced by 
such individuals, including problems accessing gov-
ernment services. 
‘‘(c) VASCULAR DISEASE.—The Director of the Insti-
tute, in consultation with the directors of other relevant 
institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health, 
shall conduct, or make grants for the conduct of, research 
related to the relationship of vascular disease and Alz-
heimer’s disease, including clinical trials to determine 
whether drugs developed to prevent cerebrovascular dis-
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ease can prevent the onset or progression of Alzheimer’s 
disease. 
‘‘(d) TREATMENTS AND PREVENTION.—The Director 
of the Institute shall place special emphasis on expediting 
the translation of research findings under this section into 
effective treatments and prevention strategies for at-risk 
individuals. 
‘‘(e) NATIONAL ALZHEIMER’S COORDINATING CEN-
TER.—The Director of the Institute may establish a Na-
tional Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center to facilitate col-
laborative research among the Alzheimer’s Disease Cen-
ters and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers established 
under section 445.’’. 
(b) 
ALZHEIMER’S
DISEASE
CENTERS.—Section 
445(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
285e–2(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and outcome 
measures and disease management,’’ after ‘‘treatment 
methods’’. 
SEC. 
105. 
RESEARCH 
ON 
ALZHEIMER’S 
DISEASE 
CAREGIVING. 
Section 445C of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 285e–5) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 445C. (a)’’ and inserting 
the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 445C. RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE SERV-
ICES AND CAREGIVING. 
‘‘(a) SERVICES RESEARCH.—’’; 
(2) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (e); 
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) INTERVENTIONS
RESEARCH.—The Director 
shall, in collaboration with the directors of the other rel-
evant institutes and centers of the National Institutes of 
Health, conduct, or make grants for the conduct of, clin-
ical, social, and behavioral research related to interven-
tions designed to help caregivers of patients with Alz-
heimer’s disease and related disorders and improve patient 
outcomes.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘(d) the Direc-
tor’’ and inserting ‘‘(c) MODEL CURRICULA
AND 
TECHNIQUES.—The Director’’. 
SEC. 106. NATIONAL SUMMIT ON ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there-
after, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall convene 
a summit of researchers, representatives of academic insti-
tutions, Federal and State policymakers, public health 
professionals, and representatives of voluntary health 
agencies to provide a detailed overview of current research 
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