Market Institute President Charles Sauer is calling on Congress to make Alzheimer’s early detection a priority when lawmakers return from August recess.
In a new op-ed for the Daily Caller, Sauer argues that Congress should move quickly on the bipartisan ASAP Act, legislation designed to create a Medicare coverage pathway for new Alzheimer’s screening technologies, including emerging blood-based biomarker tests.
“Alzheimer’s is a disease of time,” Sauer writes. “Its progression can be meaningfully slowed if it is caught early, and we now have the tools to do just that.”
Scientific advances have dramatically increased the value of an early diagnosis. New blood tests can identify biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s through a simple blood draw, while disease-modifying therapies and lifestyle interventions offer patients an opportunity to slow cognitive decline. But Medicare policy has not kept pace with those innovations. The ASAP Act would establish a pathway for qualifying screening tests to be considered for Medicare coverage.
Voters overwhelmingly support expanding access. Market Institute polling conducted by Fabrizio Ward found that 92% of voters support the ASAP Act, while 90% support Medicare coverage for FDA-cleared Alzheimer’s blood tests and FDA-approved treatments.
Sauer also makes the fiscal case for action. Alzheimer’s and other dementias are projected to generate $409 billion in health and long-term care costs in 2026, with Medicare and Medicaid bearing nearly two-thirds of that burden. Research suggests earlier intervention could help patients remain independent longer, reduce nursing home stays, and lower medical spending.
“Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis is not simply good health policy; it is good fiscal policy,” Sauer concludes.
Read Charles Sauer’s full op-ed in the Daily Caller.
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