Medicare Will Cover Alzheimer's Early Detection Tests Starting 2028: What It Means for Families

The Alzheimer's Screening and Prevention Act, or the ASAP Act, is moving to significantly change how Medicare handles early detection for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Specifically, this bill mandates that starting January 1, 2028, Medicare will cover specialized early detection screening tests for these conditions.

The Fine Print on Covered Tests

For anyone with a family history of Alzheimer’s, this is a big deal. The bill adds “Alzheimer's disease and related dementias early detection screening tests” to the list of covered medical services under Medicare (Section 1861(s)(2) of the Social Security Act). But what kind of tests? The law is clear: they must be cleared or approved by the FDA and fall into categories like genomic sequencing blood tests. Crucially, the Secretary of Health and Human Services can also approve other advanced tests that offer comparable results, including specific blood tests for cell-free nucleic acids, multiplex panel tests, or even medical imaging. This flexibility is important because it means the coverage can adapt as diagnostic technology improves over the next few years.

What This Means for Your Wallet and Your Planning

Right now, if you want one of these cutting-edge, pre-symptomatic screening tests, you’re likely paying out-of-pocket, and they are not cheap. By adding these screenings to Medicare coverage, the ASAP Act essentially removes the financial barrier for millions of seniors. This means earlier access to diagnostics, which can be critical. If a test detects early-stage Alzheimer’s, it gives families and patients years to plan—financially, legally, and medically—and potentially start early interventions that could slow progression. For the working professional aged 35 to 55 who is managing care for an aging parent, this shift from paying thousands privately to having Medicare cover it is a massive relief.

The Implementation Challenge

While the benefit to patients is clear, rolling this out won't be simple. The bill amends the Social Security Act to include payment for these services (Section 1833(h)(1)(A)), which means the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will need to establish new payment rates and administrative systems to handle these complex, often high-tech, tests. This administrative lift will require significant resources and could lead to implementation delays if not managed carefully before the 2028 deadline. Furthermore, while the individual Medicare recipient saves money, the overall cost of the Medicare program—and thus the taxpayer—will increase as a result of covering these new, specialized services.