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Missouri committee hears bill to create state dementia care coordinator to centralize services
Summary
Rep. Travis Wilson told the Health and Mental Health Committee HB2149 would create a dementia care coordinator in the Department of Health to centralize early detection, training and resource navigation; caregivers and the Alzheimer’s Association urged passage while members pressed for funding and coordination details.
Representative Travis Wilson opened the hearing on House Bill 2,149 on behalf of creating a state dementia care coordinator in the Department of Health and Senior Services, saying the office would help Missourians and caregivers find early‑detection resources, streamline services and identify grant opportunities.
Wilson said the proposal would focus on early detection, risk reduction and improved quality of care and could be made subject to appropriation; he noted a companion bill in the Senate and said he would seek grant and appropriations paths to fund the role. “Early detection is very important,” he told the committee, linking earlier diagnoses to lower downstream costs and better outcomes.
The bill drew emotional testimony from caregivers. Sandy Marshall of Poplar Bluff told lawmakers she lost her father to Lewy body dementia and described rural gaps in services; her husband Bobby Marshall, diagnosed 11 years ago, testified that early detection and access to specialists made a large difference in his course. Rachel Lesinski of the Alzheimer’s Association said the association supports a full‑time coordinator, noting that 32 states plus the District of Columbia have similar positions and citing 2025 Medicaid spending for Missourians living with Alzheimer’s as a justification for centralized coordination.
Committee members voiced broad support for the bill’s goals but pressed for details. Representative Manser and others asked how the new office would avoid duplicating services administered by Area Agencies on Aging and long‑standing ombudsman programs and whether two FTEs reflected adequate capacity given Missouri’s size. Representative Whaley noted a fiscal estimate “around $200,000” and asked whether the position would be subject to appropriation; Wilson and witnesses said they would pursue grants and could make the position subject to appropriation.
Witnesses and committee members discussed rural access, coordination with the Alzheimer’s Association and emergency services training; Sandy Marshall and other witnesses urged that the coordinator provide public‑facing outreach so doctors, first responders and families know where to turn. Wilson agreed to supply requested case studies and any additional outcome statistics from other states.
No committee vote on HB2149 is recorded in the transcript; the committee concluded testimony and left the bill pending further information. The next steps in the legislative process were not specified in the hearing record included in the transcript.
