(The Center Square) — A bill that South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster recently signed into law requires a state agency to maintain a comprehensive statewide plan to address Alzheimer’s disease — and it shouldn’t cost taxpayers anything.
Under S. 569, the Department on Aging’s Alzheimer’s Resource Coordination Center’s advisory council will keep a comprehensive statewide plan to address Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
The council is tasked with gathering feedback from three state agencies — the Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Social Services — to ensure the plan meets the state’s needs.
“With this signing, we create a unified, long-term approach to combating Alzheimer’s, allowing our state to maximize its resources, and signal to all families battling this disease that South Carolina is committed to improving care and treatment until we find a cure,” McMaster, a Republican, said in an announcement.
South Carolina’s latest statewide Alzheimer’s plan was released in February 2023. It was previously last updated in 2009.
The council must file an annual report with the governor and state lawmakers by September 30 about the plan’s progress. It must also update the plan every five years, starting in 2028.
According to an estimate from the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, the measure should have “no expenditure impact on the [agencies] because [they] will manage additional duties required by the bill within existing appropriations.”
