Alzheimer’s Research and Education Bill Heads to President’s Desk

The House on Wednesday evening passed the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take action on several issues addressing dementia research and care. The bill, which the Senate already has approved and President Trump is expected to sign, would establish Alzheimer's Centers of Excellence designed to increase education and research about the disease and cognitive decline, provide technical assistance to public health officials and others to aid in implementing interventions such as reducing risk, award grants, and expand partnerships addressing cognitive impairment and health disparities; award cooperative agreements to public health departments and other organizations to aid them in implementing actions identified in the Healthy Brain Initiative's Public Health Roadmap such as early detection and diagnosis; and Increase data collection, analysis, and timely reporting through grant projects that would utilize tools such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the National Health Interview Survey, and to monitor the progress of related objectives in the Healthy People 2020 report. The Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act authorizes $20 million for these projects for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.