Those who read our newsletter or follow our blog know that we covered a lot of ground this past year. The COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency has been in place for more than two and a half years at this time, and although things feel much more normal now, new variants are still emerging. Luckily, vaccines and boosters continue to be available but we should all still be vigilant.

Recovering from the Pandemic According to Kaiser Family Foundation, “(l)ooking ahead, states remain focused on developing and evaluating telehealth policy, addressing health equity, and addressing workforce shortages. Even as pandemic, economic, and political landscapes shift, Medicaid has and will continue to serve a large share of Americans, providing comprehensive health coverage and long-term care that are likely to remain key aspects of pandemic response and recovery.”

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Breakthroughs

This year, we reach an important milestone in dementia research – the 10th anniversary of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which stemmed from the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA). The National Plan was created with an ambitious vision: to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by 2025. The plan and its yearly updates outline goals for a coordinated effort across federal and non-federal partners to accelerate research into Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), and to better meet the needs of families currently facing these diseases. Learn more about some of the accomplishments over the past 10 years here. 

Many new findings in dementia and Alzheimer’s research were also uncovered this year, which you can read about in our many articles on the subject

New Legislation for Veterans

Legislation making several changes to benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was enacted after being signed into law last year. One example was when President Biden signed the PACT Act into law in August 2022 that expands health care benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits, radiation, chemicals, and other deployment-related health hazards.

This year, the VA also launched the Dementia Education Portal for VHA dementia educators. 

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