I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3286 
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 
JULY 22, 2009 
Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 
CARNAHAN, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. KIND, Mr. LATOURETTE, 
Mr. LOBIONDO, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. MURPHY of Con-
necticut, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. 
SUTTON, Mr. WEXLER, and Mr. YARMUTH) 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 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(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 5,300,000 Americans have 
Alzheimer’s disease and 1 in 10 individuals has a 
family member with the disease. By 2050, the num-
ber of individuals with the disease could reach 
16,000,000 unless science finds a way to prevent or 
cure the disease. 
(3) One in 8 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 4 to 6 years, and as many as 
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20 years, once the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease 
appear. 
(5) 
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. 
(6) Ninety-five percent of Medicare beneficiaries 
with Alzheimer’s disease have one or more other 
chronic conditions that are common in the elderly, 
such as coronary heart disease (26 percent), conges-
tive heart failure (16 percent), diabetes (23 percent), 
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (15 per-
cent). 
(7) Seven in 10 individuals with Alzheimer’s 
disease live at home. Cost for care at home is higher 
for people with Alzheimer’s disease than other indi-
viduals. Almost all families pay some out-of-pocket 
costs. 
(8) 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 $77,000. 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. 
(9) In fiscal year 2007, the Federal Govern-
ment spent an estimated $411,000,000 on Alz-
heimer’s disease research. Over the next 40 years, 
Alzheimer’s disease-related costs to Medicare and 
Medicaid 
alone 
are 
projected 
to 
total 
$20,000,000,000,000 in constant dollars, rising to 
over $1,000,000,000,000 per year by 2050. This 
amounts to less than a penny spent on Alzheimer’s 
disease research for each dollar that the Federal 
Government spends on Alzheimer’s disease-related 
costs each year. 
(10) It is estimated that the annual value of the 
informal care system is $94,000,000,000. Family 
caregiving comes at enormous physical, emotional, 
and financial sacrifice, putting the whole system at 
risk. 
(11) Almost 60 percent of caregivers of individ-
uals with Alzheimer’s disease are women, and over 
one-fourth have 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. 
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