World Brain Day: Science Is Outpacing Our System
By John Czwartacki
World Brain Day, observed each July 22 to spotlight brain health and neurological disease, took center stage last week. This observance offers a prime opportunity to highlight the need for timely access to treatments and cures for neurological conditions, as well as underscore the importance of a system that prioritizes diagnostic tests and early intervention.
Alzheimer’s disease, in particular, often devastates patients and their families. Medical innovation has provided options and hope for those impacted, but every day spent without a diagnosis is time not spent planning or working to access treatment.
Recently cleared blood tests can now be used to assist in the early evaluation of Alzheimer's and other causes of cognitive decline during a patient’s routine healthcare visit. The precious time previously spent on specialist referrals and imaging can now be devoted to charting a path forward with loved ones.
This sort of progress should immediately help millions. However, Medicare does not currently cover these tests for screening purposes. Thankfully, there’s a fix for this presently with Congress— the Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act of 2025, more simply known as the “ASAP Act”—which should be passed swiftly to unlock earlier access to this breakthrough before the window for early intervention closes.
An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is not what it once was. Earlier diagnoses have been shown to lead to better outcomes. While the tools exist, the issues for Alzheimer’s patients don’t just stop once they receive a diagnosis. Treatment drugs are approved to help slow disease progression. These drugs work by prompting the brain's immune cells to clear amyloid plaques (a protein buildup linked to Alzheimer's progression). In clinical trials, these treatments indicated a slow in cognitive and functional decline.
But for patients, obtaining access to these drugs results in another coverage barrier: Coverage with Evidence Development (CED). This coverage determination tool requires patients to be enrolled in specific registries to receive coverage for the treatment. This program has created a bureaucratic bottleneck that limits patients from receiving coverage, especially those living in rural areas far from trial sites and those who are mobility-restricted.
A government-imposed barrier shouldn’t stand between patients and the approved treatments that improve outcomes, especially for a disease like Alzheimer’s that takes the most precious thing away from patients: time.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should do away with this unnecessary program where not needed to ensure it is not blocking access where it is needed most.
World Brain Day is not just a commemoration; it serves as a reminder of the importance of tools for diagnosing and treating neurological conditions. In the case of Alzheimer’s patients and their families, improved access can’t come soon enough.