Alzheimer’s bill gets backing from AOC after letter urging support
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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently cosponsored the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. Eagle file photo by Phineas Rueckert.
By Jonathan Sperling
After a local advocate urged U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to sponsor a key Alzheimer’s care bill, the first-term congressmember became the latest Queens lawmaker to sign onto the measure, which could have a major impact on improving treatment for people with dementia nationwide.
The Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act would increase access to information on care and support for people that have been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as well as ensure that an Alzheimer's or dementia diagnosis is documented in a person’s medical record.
Ocasio-Cortez had withheld support and had not met with advocates for the bill, unlike most of her Queens colleagues. But shortly after Teri Graham, an advocate for Alzheimer’s care and research, wrote a letter to the Daily News asking her to sponsor the legislation, Ocasio-Cortez backed the bill.
A total of 1,116 New Yorkers — including 242 from Queens — died of Alzheimer’s in 2017, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. That’s more than the number of Queens residents who died of breast cancer in 2017.
“Once passed, this legislation will provide crucial education to clinicians which will result in more New Yorkers with dementia gaining access to care planning services through Medicare,” Alzheimer’s Association New York City Chapter Executive Director Christopher Smith said in a statement. “I want to extend a special thank you to Teri Graham for writing the letter that encouraged Rep. Ocasio-Cortez to support the legislation. Her advocacy, dedication and diligence as a volunteer Alzheimer’s Association ambassador has helped to create real change.”
The HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act would also provide coverage for comprehensive care planning services to Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers following a Alzheimer’s diagnosis, as well as requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reach out to medical practitioners about the services under the act and require HHS to report to Congress and the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services on barriers beneficiaries face in accessing the services, as well as recommendations to eliminate such barriers.
Ocasio-Cortez’s 14th Congressional District covers a large part of Western Queens, as well as East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona and College Point.
Other Queens congressmembers who previously signed on to support the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act include U.S. Reps. Grace Meng, Tom Suozzi and Carolyn B. Maloney.
