OPINION:
A new study suggests that a simple blood test could forecast Alzheimer’s years before symptoms appear. For millions of families, including my own, that could mean the difference between scrambling in crisis and planning for the future.
That is what prevention looks like: using the best tools to detect disease early, act sooner and avoid the most devastating outcomes. We already know that healthy habits and managing conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can reduce the risk of serious illnesses, including dementia.
Now, science is catching up. Blood-based diagnostics and emerging therapies are transforming Alzheimer’s from an inevitable diagnosis into a disease we can detect earlier and potentially slow.
But policy has not kept pace.
While Medicare covers these blood tests for diagnostic use, expanding them as a screening tool requires congressional action. The bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act would do just that, broadening access to blood biomarker tests and building national capacity for earlier detection and treatment.
It’s a critical step toward turning scientific progress into real-world impact for patients and families.
The stakes are high. Alzheimer’s costs families and the health-care system more than $360 billion each year. Earlier detection provides time to plan, begin treatment sooner and ease that burden.
Without clear coverage policy, however, access will be uneven. These tests will roll out slowly, available primarily to those who can afford to pay out of pocket, leaving behind many of those most affected by the disease.
The public understands what’s at stake. Over 90% of voters support a national strategy to combat Alzheimer’s and there is strong bipartisan appetite for solutions that expand access, promote prevention and modernize care.
Early detection of Alzheimer’s sits at the intersection of affordability, prevention and a more modern vision of aging. It reflects a broader shift in health care, from reacting to late-stage disease to acting earlier, when intervention can have greater impact.
Building on this momentum can help deliver not just better outcomes, but a future in which families face Alzheimer’s with more options, time and hope.
CANDACE DEMATTEIS
Vice president of policy, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
Raleigh, North Carolina
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