Advocates Call for Passage of ASAP Act with nearly 200 Bipartisan Cosponsors
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, highlights the growing bipartisan support behind the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention (ASAP) Act (H.R. 6130), which currently has nearly 200 cosponsors and continues to gain record-breaking momentum heading into the end of the year.
The ASAP Act would provide a pathway for Medicare coverage of blood-based biomarker screening tests for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, expanding access to early detection and diagnosis for patients and families.
This past week, Rachel Conant, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at the Alzheimer’s Association and Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM), joined Fox News to discuss the policy hurdles blocking access to breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatments and the urgent need to pass Congressman Vern Buchanan’s ASAP Act. During the segment, Conant explained that while new Alzheimer’s treatments are emerging faster than ever, outdated policy barriers are keeping many patients from being able to access them in reasonable time. She pointed out early detection as the key to changing that trajectory, noting that blood-based biomarker tests now make it possible to diagnose Alzheimer’s far sooner than in the past through preventative measures. But Medicare’s current coverage restrictions prevent many seniors from getting screened before it’s too late to benefit from critical treatment.
Conant underscored that closing this gap is exactly what the ASAP Act, introduced by Congressman Buchanan, is designed to do. She called on Congress to build on its bipartisan momentum and get the bill across the finish line once and for all.
Buchanan’s ASAP Act has secured nearly 200 bipartisan cosponsors in the House. In addition to being Vice Chairman and the most senior Republican on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Buchanan serves as the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, which has broad leadership over traditional Medicare, the Medicare prescription drug benefit program and Medicare Advantage, providing quality health resources to Americans nationwide.
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