Presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) discussed the challenges and costs of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease while stumping in New Hampshire last weekend.
“My dad is in assisted living right now, in memory care, so I’m dealing with this myself,” Klobuchar, 58, and a Minnesota Democrat told voters at a house party on Sunday, according to the Washington Examiner. “Luckily for me, for him it wasn’t an early on-set thing. He was great until a few years ago. So I have seen how much it costs and what it means.
“People don’t really realize it just adds so much cost to our healthcare because they get other illnesses, and they fall, and things go wrong because of their problem with Alzheimer’s.”
Kolbuchar has previously discussed her close relationship with her father, Jim, 91, a former journalist who struggled with alcoholism.
A third-term senator, she has called for increased regulation of nursing homes. But she also has backed higher funding for Alzheimer’s research with the goal of preventing and effectively treating the disease by 2025. She said Sunday she still has that aim in mind, as well as increasing federal support for caregivers.
She told those gathered for her event that Alzheimer’s Association meetings have become like therapy to her.
“I get to hear their stories of what they’re dealing with and think about what others are dealing with in their lives,” Klobuchar said.
