The health and long-term care policy challenges of Alzheimer's disease.

The growth of the aging population, the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity of that population, and the changing nature of Alzheimer treatment and care demand change in the financing and delivery of health and long-term care in the US. These challenges will require public policies that are well informed by behavioral, social, and health policy research. The issues fall into three broad categories, each of which raises questions for research: the cost of Alzheimer care, Medicare and health care policy, and long-term care policy including support of the appropriate role of family caregivers and meeting the need for affordable long-term care. The paper calls for a closer collaboration between the research community, policy makers and advocates to assure that science is addressing the most urgent policy questions and that relevant research is being translated and communicated to policy makers in a timely fashion.