Ohio State Alzheimer’s Plan Overview
Following the enactment of S.B. 24 in 2019, Ohio established the Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementias Task Force to create Ohio’s first State Alzheimer’s Plan. The Task Force included advocates, caregivers, family members, health care professionals, and researchers, and was charged with conducting a needs assessment and examining the opportunities around public health, early detection and diagnosis, workforce, home and community-based services, and quality of care. After community listening sessions and virtual forums across the state, the Task Force released a Preliminary Findings Summary in September 2021, and in June 2024, the Ohio Department of Aging released the Action Plan on Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias, which aims to increase public awareness, improve access to quality care, train a dementia-capable workforce, advance dementia research and data innovation, and optimize available funding and financial supports for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
Ohio 2024 Policy Priorities
Improve Access to Biomarker Testing
With the historic Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of treatments that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s in the early stages, early detection and diagnosis is even more critical to ensure individuals receive the most benefit at the earliest point possible. Biomarkers offer one of the most promising paths to improve dementia detection, diagnosis and treatment. Yet these critical tests remain out of reach for many as insurance coverage is failing to keep pace with innovations and advancements in treatments. The Alzheimer’s Association is urging state lawmakers to expand insurance coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing. Without this legislation, dementia diagnoses may take up to two years, increasing the long-term costs to the individual, family and the state.
Incorporate Dementia into Public Health Campaigns
236,000 Ohioans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and many are living with another chronic disease, such as heart disease or diabetes. With one of the highest rates of chronic conditions in the country, Ohioans need to be aware of opportunities for risk reduction, utilizing brain health to improve their own health and recognizing cognitive changes in their loved ones. The Alzheimer’s Association is calling on state policymakers to pass legislation requiring the inclusion of risk reduction and brain health messages in existing public health campaigns across the state.
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236,200
people living with Alzheimer’s in Ohio
414,000
Ohioans are providing unpaid care
$2.5 Billion
Medicaid cost of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s (2020)
4,947
deaths from Alzheimer’s in 2021
17%
in hospice with a primary diagnosis of dementia
614 Million
increase of geriatricians in Ohio needed to meet the demand in 2050
Resources to Drive Change in Ohio
The following resources developed by AIM and the Alzheimer’s Association will help you learn more about the issues impacting people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, how Ohio policymakers are addressing these gaps, and how you can help drive change.