{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399885", "<span class =\"kicker\">***Smith Helps Kick Off Monmouth County Event ***</span>Alzheimer's Association Holds Walk to End Alzheimers", "2016-10-29", "2016", "2016-10", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) helped launch the \u201cWalk to End Alzheimer\u2019s\u201d event at Bradley Beach, thanking the hundreds of walkers and volunteers for turning out to support the event.\r\n  \r\n\u00a0 Smith, co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Alzheimer\u2019s Caucus, was invited by the host Alzheimer\u2019s Association to welcome walkers and speak about the fight to stop a disease that in New Jersey\u00a0claims an estimated 170,000 victims who suffer from this form of dementia, and impacts more than 400,000 family members who are caregivers. More than 5.4 million suffer across the country from Alzheimer\u2019s Disease.\r\n\u00a0 \u201cAll the volunteers who came out today are playing a critical role in the war against a disease which ravages people and their families,\u201d said Smith. \u201cWe all have loved ones or friends or families who have Alzheimer\u2019s themselves. We must pursue a full court press in the battles for research, awareness and funding. We want to see a path to prevention, treatment, and someday, hopefully, a cure.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Smith\u2019s bill, the \u201cHealth Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer\u2019s Act,\u201d has earned the bipartisan support of a monumental 300-plus members of Congress.\u00a0The co-founder and co-chairman of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, Smith introduced HOPE to provide Medicare coverage for a care planning session for patients newly-diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease, family caregivers or legal representatives.\u00a0He also spoke about his bill Kevin and Avonte\u2019s Law, HR 4919, which he hopes will move in the House this fall.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The HOPE Act would provide coverage of a care planning session for Medicare beneficiaries where the individual, their caregiver or legal representative will receive information about medical and non-medical treatments to plan for their future care. A similar proposal was recently proposed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a temporary one-year trial. \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mary Gerard, of Ocean Township in Smith\u2019s district, was the primary caregiver for her mother who suffered from Alzheimer\u2019s for more than eight years before succumbing. Gerard said, \u201cWe\u2019re happy that Chris Smith could come and talk to our walkers about the HOPE Act and the Kevin and Avonte\u2019s Law. He\u2019s the leader in the House.\u201d \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Katie Macklin, Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, which ran the event, said the turnout from volunteer walkers was impressive.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt was huge to hear from Chris Smith about HOPE and Kevin and Avonte\u2019s Law,\u201d Macklin said. \u201cIt\u2019s a lovely fall day for our incredible supporters who walked today.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not only would the care planning benefit authorized in the HOPE Act improve health outcomes for Alzheimer\u2019s patients, it is also expected to mitigate huge, unnecessary costs associated with preventable trips to hospitals and emergency rooms. This is especially important given the state of Medicare and Alzheimer\u2019s place as the most expensive disease in America. \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Smith said the Kevin and Avonte\u2019s bill will reauthorize and expand an existing program, the Missing Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Patient Alert Program, to include children with a developmental disability\u2014such as autism\u2014and rename it the \u201cMissing Americans Alert Program.\u201d \r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Wandering, which is also referred to as elopement, occurs when an individual leaves a safe area or a caretaker. Wandering is a safety concern for both seniors with Alzheimer\u2019s and children with autism. It is estimated that 60 percent of individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s and 49 percent of children with autism have wandered and we know that the results can be devastating: The legislation is named in honor of two boys with autism, Kevin Curtis and Avonte Oquendo, who both wandered from safety and tragically drowned.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, in 2016 alone, direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer\u2019s will total an estimated $236 billion, with just under half of the costs borne by Medicare. A cost estimate commissioned by the Alzheimer\u2019s Association and conducted by Healthsperien, a Washington, D.C.-based health care consulting firm, indicated that as a result of Smith\u2019s legislation, net federal health spending would decrease by $692 million over the 10-year period.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399885"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8658100850880146, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}