2023 was a historic year full of progress and victories due to the hard work of passionate, dedicated advocates. Here … More
2023 was a historic year full of progress and victories due to the hard work of passionate, dedicated advocates. Here is a look at all that was accomplished because of you!
Rally in Tally / 2023 Florida Legislative Session Victories
Rally in Tally, which took place Feb 7-8, kicked off 2023 advocacy efforts. This was the first year back pre-pandemic and purple pride showed up in stride. Over 70 advocates from all over Florida came to the Capitol to champion for the Alzheimer’s Association’s legislative priorities. These included:
Passage of the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Education and Training Act. This legislation establishes a baseline dementia training standard for long-term care providers. At the end of the legislative session due to the hard work of advocates, HB 299 and its Senate companion secured over 31 co-sponsors. More than 375 advocates across Florida took action during the legislative session, sending over 5,900 emails and tweeted over 100 tweets. Because of their hard work, Gov. DeSantis signed HB 299 into law on June 22, 2023, an initiative that the Alzheimer’s Association has worked on for the past 3 years. The bill will ensure that all long-term care providers have minimum dementia training standards and will help to close gaps in existing training requirements to help provide quality dementia care to those who need it. The Brain Bus, a statewide mobile outreach initiative that educates and spreads awareness, secured historic funding with a 54% increase, a total of $491,614. This increase will help to support and expand awareness efforts across the state. The Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative (ADI) saw a $12.5 million increase in funding. This additional funding will go toward memory disorder clinics to expand awareness and diagnostic services and will also go toward the ADI waitlist for respite services.AIM Advocacy Forum/Rally for Access
On March 20, nearly 900 Alzheimer’s advocates across the country, including 40 from Florida, gathered in Washington, D.C., outside the White House. They rallied against the 2022 decision to block Medicare coverage of FDA-approved Alzheimer’s disease treatments as part of the 2023 Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) Advocacy Forum.
On June 16, Florida advocates gathered for the Rally for Access in Miami in an effort to once again fight for unrestricted access to these treatments and promote health equity. This rally happened not only in Florida, but in every single state in the weeks before the FDA decided whether to grant traditional support of Leqembi, a treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s that can slow the progression of the disease during the earliest stages. Every day without access, over 2,000 people living with early Alzheimer’s became ineligible for treatments.
Fortunately, after making their voices heard, Medicare made the decision to improve dementia care for those living with Alzheimer’s as well as their caregivers. Furthermore, the FDA gave full approval to Leqembi with Medicare covering the majority of the cost.
Delegation Meetings
In preparation for the 2024 legislative session, advocates have participated in and spoken at 21 Florida county delegation meetings and engaged over 100 officials about key priorities for 2024. This includes Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias training for law enforcement, continued funding for the Brain Bus and funding for a statewide public awareness campaign.
Make a Difference in 2024
Advocates have fought passionately and made incredible progress this year! However, the work is not yet done. The coming year marks new priorities and initiatives to continue to spread awareness about Alzheimer’s and get the support that is needed for caregivers. If you are interested in joining advocacy efforts or learning more about ways to get involved, please visit our website.?
Make an impact on February 13 and 14 at Rally in Tally. Learn more and register at https://alzfla.org/AlzRally24.