Senator Markey is dedicated to ensuring that elderly Americans who wish to age at home have the opportunity to do so. To help, he created Independence at Home, a program that provides seniors the option of receiving primary care services in the comfort of their own home. Each senior has a team of health care providers that is responsible for coordinating their care, helping them avoid trips to the emergency room, avoidable hospitalizations, and fragmented or confusing treatment. The Independence at Home program began in 2012 and is now available to seniors nationwide.
Senator Markey is a leader in the fight to find a cure to Alzheimer’s disease. In the House of Representatives, Markey co-authored the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, which mandated the development of a first-ever comprehensive National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. The plan includes the bold national goal of preventing or treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025 and represents an historic commitment by the federal government to tackling the disease. Markey also introduced the bipartisan Spending Reductions Through Innovations in Therapies (SPRINT) Act, which would spur innovation in research and drug development for high-cost, chronic health conditions such as Alzheimer’s, as well as the Health Outcomes, Planning and Education (H.O.P.E.) Act to encourage early Alzheimer’s diagnoses and connect caregivers to information and resources. Markey also introduced the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act, which would require the National Institutes of Health to create a strategic plan to expedite therapeutic outcomes for those with or at risk of Alzheimer’s disease and coordinate Alzheimer’s research within federal agencies. In 1999 in the House of Representatives, Markey founded the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s and currently serves as co-Chair in the Senate.
