June

6, 2015


Senator Mark Warner




Senator Johnny Isakson
475 Russell Senate Office Building



131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510




Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Warner and Isakson:

LatinosAgainstAlzheimers, a network of USAgainstAlzheimers, is pleased to express our support for
your bipartisan Care Planning Act. The landmark bill you have introduced would improve care for
patients with advanced illness by ensuring that patients have the tools they need to make informed
choices based on their goals, values, and preferences.

The Care Planning Act would ensure that patients with advanced illness receive the care they want: no
more, no less. Your bill provides patients with Medicare coverage for voluntary, team-based discussions
of prognosis and care plans throughout the progression of advanced illness, not just at the end of life.
Critically, the bill also ensures that this benefit is both meaningful and of value to patients, through the
development of quality measures to ensure concordance with patient values. We are also pleased to see
mechanisms to enhance the use and portability of Advance Directives across care settings and state
lines.

LatinosAgainstAlzheimers is the nations first-ever coalition of Latino serving organizations working
together to raise awareness of Alzheimers disproportionate impact on the Latino community. Our
coalition members work together to develop and advocate for policy and programmatic solutions that
address the unique challenges Latinos face when dealing with Alzheimers and dementia.

The Care Planning Act would further many of the aims of our organization. In fact, Alzheimers and
diabetes are two critical health issues that too often overlap in the Latino community, creating a need
for coordinated care to help individuals and families manage options and strategies to ensure sustained
quality of life for as long as possible. As the Latino community rapidly ages, coordinated care will be
invaluable to the millions of Latino families managing multiple chronic conditions like Alzheimers and
diabetes.

Thank you for your bipartisan leadership on this important policy. LatinosAgainstAlzheimers shares your
commitment to patients quality of life and ensuring that they have the tools they need to make choices
that are right for them and their families, and we look forward to continuing to work with you on this
bill. If you or your staff have any questions, please feel free to contact Jason Resendez, Director of
LatinosAgainstAlzheimers, at 202.280.0884 or jresendez@usagainstalzheimers.org.

Sincerely,

LatinosAgainstAlzheimers
Latino Alzheimers & Memory Disorders Alliance (LAMDA)
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA)