The Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act would provide a pathway to earlier dementia blood test screening for Medicare beneficiaries
Washington, D.C., November 19, 2025 — The Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) are proud to support today’s bipartisan introduction of the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act. This important legislation creates a pathway for Medicare coverage of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and cleared blood biomarker screening tests, accelerating access to blood biomarker tests and earlier detection of Alzheimer’s and other dementia.
“We know an early and accurate dementia diagnosis is extremely important, yet as many as half of the over 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s are not diagnosed,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer and AIM president. “Thank you to bipartisan congressional champions for introducing the ASAP Act. This transformative bill will provide access to early detection tools for Alzheimer’s and other dementia, helping people receive the diagnosis that is the path to treatments, better care, and slowed disease progression.”
The ASAP Act would create the authority for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to cover routine blood-based dementia screening tests, and future test methods approved by the FDA, so beneficiaries do not face unnecessary delays or barriers to detection and treatment.
Introduced by Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), the ASAP Act is a crucial step toward earlier Alzheimer’s disease detection. Earlier detection and diagnosis allow people to plan for future decisions, enroll in clinical trials, access treatments when they would be most effective, and implement modifiable risk reduction strategies.
The ASAP Act maintains the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) authority to use its evidence-based process to determine coverage parameters for new screening tests as they are developed and approved. Accordingly, future dementia screening tools will complement existing screenings and dramatically improve early detection.
By providing a faster, more accessible way to screen for Alzheimer’s and other dementias, these tests will help primary care providers identify at-risk dementia patients earlier, allowing specialists to focus their time and expertise on those who need advanced evaluation and treatment. The bipartisan ASAP Act will not only improve patient care, but also help facilitate smoother transitions from primary care to specialists — reducing the burden on overextended health care workers and helping to alleviate bottlenecks in the health care system.
