I am a volunteer advocate for the CT Alzheimer’s Association and am writing to notify the public of a critical legislative bill requesting Medicare coverage for new blood tests to diagnose early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act, or ASAP, is vital to younger and older persons because research shows dementia biomarkers may be found in the brain UP TO 20 years before the classic 10 symptoms occur. These new blood tests can be ordered by primary care physicians for symptomatic individuals and could potentially identify Alzheimer’s much earlier. However, these tests are not yet widely available.
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The Alzheimer’s Association estimates nearly half of Americans worry about developing mild cognitive impairment. Nearly 4 in 5 persons want an Alzheimer’s diagnosis before symptoms appear and more than 9 in 10 Americans want a simple test to allow for early treatment. The ASAP Act would accelerate early dementia detection by creating a pathway for Medicare coverage of FDA-approved blood-based biomarker tests. This is an essential step toward even earlier Alzheimer’s disease detection!
The Alzheimer’s Association educates the public that finding Alzheimer’s disease early is key to getting them information, care and support quickly. Please join us in encouraging U.S. Rep. John Larson to support the bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act by contacting his office at (860) 278-8888 or go to https://larson.house.gov/contact to submit a contact form.
Karen Carty, Rocky Hill