Washington, DC (June 27, 2024) —UsAgainstAlzheimer’s applauded the House Ways and Means Committee for its unanimous vote to advance a bipartisan bill aimed at improving early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). This is a significant step forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, a growing public health crisis affecting families nationwide.

The Committee package includes The Concentrating on High-Value Alzheimer’s Needs to Get to an End (CHANGE) Act, which improves the Welcome to Medicare and Medicare Annual Wellness Visits by requiring clinicians to use tools identified by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to complete the cognitive assessment component of the visits, improving early detection of ADRD. By improving the early assessment processes, this legislation works to provide timely and effective care for families affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementia.

“There has never been a more crucial time than now to pass the CHANGE Act and demonstrate the importance of annual cognitive screenings. New treatment options are most effective for Alzheimer’s patients in the early stages of the disease. By authorizing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to use tools identified by the NIA for cognitive impairment detection, the CHANGE Act could help clinicians detect and ultimately diagnose Alzheimer’s and related dementias at its earliest stages,” said George Vradenburg, chair and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “Thank you to Representatives Linda Sánchez, Darin LaHood, Doris Matsui, and Gus Bilirakis for their dedication and support of this important bill."

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About UsAgainstAlzheimer’s
UsAgainstAlzheimer’s is engaged in a relentless pursuit to end Alzheimer’s, the sixth leading killer in America. Our work centers on prevention, early detection and diagnosis, and equal access to treatments regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity. To achieve our mission, we give voice to patients and caregivers while partnering with government, scientists, the private sector, and allied organizations -- the people who put the “Us” in UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.