A Letter to the Editor: Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act

Did you know that fewer than 10% of people living with mild cognitive impairment ever receive a diagnosis, meaning most people aren't identified early enough to benefit from today's FDA-approved treatments? Now, a simple blood test can detect Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear — a scientific milestone that could change lives. As a caregiver, I understand the importance of early detection and the difference it can make for families.

Under current law, Medicare cannot cover any dementia screening tests for people without symptoms, which creates a legal barrier. This barrier isn’t scientific — it’s statutory. Only Congress can fix it.

This is a “mammogram moment” for Alzheimer’s — just as Congress enabled Medicare to cover routine mammograms, leading to earlier detection and declining breast cancer deaths, Congress can deliver the same breakthrough moment for Alzheimer’s.

This is especially relevant and important to me, as someone who lost her mom rapidly to this disease, just shy of what would have been her 69th birthday. We weren't able to catch symptoms early enough, but we can help future generations.

Please join me and the Alzheimer’s Association in thanking Congresswoman Delia Ramirez for cosponsoring the bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act, and ask them to tell congressional leadership to move this bill ASAP!

To learn more about this disease and how you can join the fight to end Alzheimer’s, visit alz.org.