Early disease detection is bringing down health care costs
By James T. Brett, Portland Press Herald
The New England Council recently hosted a forum in Boston exploring some of the incredible innovation in our region focused on the early detection of diseases. We heard about some of the remarkable advances in technology that are enabling earlier detection of everything from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease.
From our keynote speaker, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, and our panel of experts from the business and medical communities, we learned how some of these groundbreaking innovations are not only saving lives, but also having a significant economic impact by minimizing long-term health care costs and alleviating strain on our beleaguered health care system.
A key focus of the discussion among the experts at this program was on how federal policy can continue to foster innovation in this area, and can ensure that every American has access to early detection tools. And on that front, there was some good news, as Congress has taken steps in recent months to advance policies that will expand access to these tools.
Earlier this year, as part of the fiscal year 2026 Appropriations Bill, Congress enacted the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage (MCED) Act, which will allow Medicare — beginning in 2028 — to cover MCED tests in a timely manner following FDA approval and evidence of clinical benefit.
Currently, most vulnerable patients could face years-long waits to access the latest innovations in cancer detection. The New England Council proudly endorsed this bipartisan legislation, and is grateful to the many members of the New England delegation who co-sponsored the proposal.
In more good news, bipartisan legislation has been introduced to expand access to similar testing aimed at early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia. Last fall, leaders in both the House and Senate introduced the Alzheimer’s Screening and Detection (ASAP) Act, which would create a pathway for Medicare coverage of FDA-approved blood biomarker screening tests that help detect Alzheimer’s and other dementia.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, if passed, this bill will not only improve patient care, but also help facilitate smoother transitions from primary care to specialists — reducing the burden on overextended health care workers and helping to alleviate bottlenecks in the health care system.
However, as we learned from the experts at the program, there are also a number of potential roadblocks to early detection of disease. One of those roadblocks is a lack of access to screening, which has been exacerbated by two recent developments at the federal level: Medicaid cuts enacted under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies at the end of 2025.
These developments will undoubtedly result in millions of Americans losing coverage and therefore losing access not just to some of the advanced testing discussed here, but also routine screenings like mammograms, pap smears and colonoscopies.
A second threat to early detection is potential cuts to federally funded research from agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. As home to some of the world’s premier medical and scientific research institutions, New England is the recipient of billions of dollars of federal research funding that has supported the development of new early detection technologies, as well as live-saving new treatments.
In recent years, this funding has repeatedly been on the cutting block, which threatens to slow down the groundbreaking research that is quite literally saving lives each and every day. Indeed, President Trump’s recently released fiscal year 2027 budget proposes some $5 billion in cuts to NIH funding.
The takeaway message is loud and clear: early detection saves lives, and saves money. Much progress has been made, but we cannot afford to take our foot of the gas pedal.
As Rep. McGovern said in his keynote remarks, “We’re lucky to live in the most
scientifically advanced time in the history of the world … we’re lucky to live in New England, one of the most research-rich regions anywhere in the world.”
Let’s not squander that good fortune and keep supporting the innovation that will detect diseases and save lives.