Bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act would create a Medicare coverage pathway for early detection tools
WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 15, 2026 — The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health today held a hearing on the bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act, legislation the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM), have championed alongside bipartisan sponsors in Congress. The hearing is an important step forward in the legislative process and comes as support for the legislation keeps growing — the bill now has 215 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and 50 in the Senate.
“Fewer than 10% of people living with mild cognitive impairment ever receive a diagnosis, which means most people are not identified early enough to benefit from today’s treatments — that is the exact problem the ASAP Act addresses,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer and AIM president. “We thank Chairman Griffith and Ranking Member DeGette for giving the ASAP Act this hearing, as well as the bill’s bipartisan sponsors and everyone who has worked to bring this legislation to this point.”
During the hearing, subcommittee members questioned witnesses about the bills under consideration, including the ASAP Act.
“From a provider perspective, how would a bill like the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act change care for Medicare beneficiaries?” asked Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-Va.). “Do you think that the bill would save costs for both patient and health care systems as a whole if individuals had access to these screenings with proper safeguards?”
“I think of Alzheimer’s like any chronic condition. The sooner we can diagnose it, the more we can treat it upfront and prevent some downstream adverse effects of that condition,” answered Rebecca Andrews, MS, MD, MACP, Immediate Past Chair, Board of Regents (2026-2027), American College of Physicians (ACP). “In particular for something like Alzheimer’s, it provides time for the family to plan.”
Bipartisan support for the ASAP Act was on full display throughout the hearing.
“I’m thrilled to see the inclusion of my bill, the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act, or ASAP, which would create a pathway for Medicare coverage of FDA-approved blood biomarker screening tests,” said Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.).
Under current law, Medicare cannot cover any screening test for diseases that cause dementia — a legal barrier only Congress can fix. The ASAP Act would clear that roadblock without mandating coverage, using the same evidence-based approach Congress recently applied to cancer screening through the MCED Act.
New research presented in July at the 2026 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC®) found that cognitively healthy older adults with very high levels of the blood biomarker p-tau217 had an approximately 78% risk of developing cognitive impairment within 10 years.
“This is Alzheimer’s having its mammogram moment,” said Rachel Conant, Alzheimer’s Association senior vice president of public policy and AIM executive director. “When Congress made Medicare cover routine mammograms, screening rates rose and breast cancer deaths fell. Today’s hearing is real progress toward that same outcome for Alzheimer’s, and we are grateful to everyone helping build it.”
The ASAP Act was introduced in the House by Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), and in the Senate by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
