Legislation requesting more research on Alzheimer's disease in New Mexico passes
Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque) sponsored legislation to request further research on Alzheimer's disease. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM)
New Mexico will be the state with the fourth highest proportion of seniors in its population by 2030, according to an estimation by the Aging and Long-Term Services Department.
And of the state's current population, the New Mexico Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association reports more than 46,000 people live with a dementia-related illness.
In response to these statistics and in an effort to expand awareness of dementia-related illnesses, Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque) sponsored House Memorial 53, which unanimously passed the House on Wednesday.
HM53 asks the Department of Health and the Aging and Long-Term Services Department to encourage further research on the subject and to work together to distribute updated information to New Mexicans and health providers. It also requests the departments create a report on these actions for the Legislative Council Service and the governor.
The Aging and Long-Term Services Department recently launched its 'Take Action. Talk' campaign to increase awareness of warning signs of Alzheimer's disease, treatments and resources for caregivers. The department also operates the New MexiCare program, which provides financial assistance to people who narrowly miss the requirements for qualifying for Medicaid.
Emily Kaltenbach, secretary of the Aging and Long-Term Services Department, told Source NM in an emailed statement that her department is committed to supporting people living with a dementia-related illness and caregivers.
'ALTSD is actively addressing this critical issue through initiatives like the federal Lifespan Respite grant, which provides outreach, education, and respite for caregivers,' she said.
Herndon also noted that the memorial encourages further research at the New Mexico Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center, including clinical trials and PET scans for amyloid plaques in the brain, which have been shown to develop in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, according to the National Institute on Aging.
'The University of New Mexico is one of the few places that [these scans] can actually be done in this state,' Herndon said.
She told Source that she will look into how Medicaid might take part in expanding access to Alzheimer's disease drugs next session, after the departments complete their report.
Herndon told Source NM she had limited knowledge of Alzheimer's disease until a close friend received a diagnosis. And neither she nor her friend were aware of the two drugs approved in recent years by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shown to delay cognitive decline in patients with cases of early or mild dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease.
'How would her life have changed if she had known about it,' Herndon said. 'How do we get more information out to the community about the disease, about how you can protect yourselves and your family and what you need to do to make sure you're living a long and happy life as you can. And New Mexico can take a giant place in this.'
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And most of them — around 92% — are working, caregiving, attending school or disabled. Earlier estimates of the budget bill from the Congressional Budget Office found that about 5 million people stand to lose coverage. A KFF tracking poll conducted in May found that the enrollees come from across the political spectrum. About one-fourth are Republicans; roughly one-third are Democrats. The poll found that about 7 in 10 adults are worried that federal spending reductions on Medicaid will lead to more uninsured people and would strain health care providers in their area. About half said they were worried reductions would hurt the ability of them or their family to get and pay for health care. Amaya Diana, an analyst at KFF, points to work requirements launched in Arkansas and Georgia as keeping people off Medicaid without increasing employment. 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Felix White, who has Type I diabetes, first qualified for Medicaid after losing his job as a computer programmer several years ago. The Oreland, Pennsylvania, man has been looking for a job, but finds that at 61, it's hard to land one. Medicaid, meanwhile, pays for a continuous glucose monitor and insulin and funded foot surgeries last year, including one that kept him in the hospital for 12 days. 'There's no way I could have afforded that,' he said. 'I would have lost my foot and probably died.' ___ Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this article.
