From Cure Alzheimer’s Fund President & CEO, Tim Armour:

I’ve been talking about the “cost of Alzheimer’s” for years, but we just released our new numbers and the statistics are shocking.

Over the next 10 years, we will spend $2 trillion on Alzheimer’s care.

Alzheimer’s costs the federal government over $100 billion per year, but as the baby boomer generation ages, the costs of health care are going to increase at an even faster pace. We can’t sustain this, Alzheimer’s alone will single-handedly bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid if we don’t act.

That’s why we must find a cure for Alzheimer’s now. We need the federal government to make a serious investment in research so our loved ones — and our nation’s health care system — will not suffer the consequences.

That is why I’m asking each and every one of you to sign our petition telling Congress to cure Alzheimer’s now.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5850/t/5223/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=755

These numbers are truly alarming, reminding us that we must cure Alzheimer’s now not only to address the obvious looming economic disaster, but also to bring real hope and relief to those already suffering from the disease. That’s why we founded the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. We have a roadmap to a cure — we are the only ones — we just need to fund it.

With a federal investment of $5 billion a year for the next decade, our country can capitalize on current research, including Cure Alzheimer’s Fund’s successful efforts to identify and characterize all the genes related to Alzheimer’s, bringing us that much closer to curing this devastating disease — that’s a lot less than the $2 trillion price of inaction.

Another American gets Alzheimer’s every 70 seconds, yet our government spends very little on research. We need a long-term investment or our health care system — and the American people — will continue to suffer.

Lend your voice to our cause and help us cure Alzheimer’s once and for all.