,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #gji  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,april #aa1 #bjac   
,ms4 ,stabenow 7for herself1 ,ms4       
,collins1 ,mr4 ,begich1 ,mr4 ,brown1    
,mr4 ,franken1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mrs4   
,gillibrand1 and ,mr4 ,menendez7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,finance  ,a ,,bill  ,to  
amend title ,,xviii of the ,social      
,security ,act to increase diagnosis of 
,alzheimer's disease and related        
dementias1 leading to better care and   
outcomes for ,americans living with     
,alzheimer's disease and related        
dementias4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act 
may be cited as the ,health ,outcomes1  
,planning1 and ,education for           
,alzheimer's ,act4  #b4 ,findings and   
purpose  7a7 ,findings ,congress makes  
the following findings3  7#a7 ,as many  
as half of the estimated #e4b million   
,americans with ,alzheimer's disease    
have never received a diagnosis4  7#b7  

,an early and documented diagnosis and  
access to care planning services leads  
to better outcomes for individuals with 
,alzheimer's disease and other dementias
 and their caregivers4  7#c7 ,combining 
the existing ,medicare benefits of a    
diagnostic evaluation and care planning 
into a single package of services would 
help ensure that individuals receive an 
appropriate diagnosis as well as        
critical information about the disease  
and available care options1 which leads 
to better outcomes4  7#d7 ,an accurate  
diagnosis allows for better management  
of other known chronic conditions and   
more efficient utilization of medical   
resources1 including reducing           
complications and the number of costly  
emergency room visits and               
hospitalizations4  7#e7 ,a formal       
diagnosis allows individuals and their  
caregivers to have access to available  
medical and non-medical treatments1     
build a care team1 participate in       
support services1 and enroll in clinical

 trials4  7#f7 ,undertaking the         
diagnostic process potentially allows   
cognitive impairment to be reversed1 as 
the cognitive impairment of nine percent
 of individuals experiencing            
dementia-like symptoms is due to a      
potentially reversible cause1 such as   
depression or vitamin deficiency4  7b7  
,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to
 increase diagnosis of ,alzheimer's     
disease and related dementias1 leading  
to better care and outcomes for         
,americans living with ,alzheimer's     
disease and related dementias4  #c4     
,medicare coverage of comprehensive     
,alzheimer's disease diagnosis and      
services  7a7 ,in general ,section #ahfa
 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db     
,u4,s4,c4 #aciex7 is amended--  7#a7 in 
subsection 7s77#b7--  7,a7 by striking  
and at the end of subparagraph 7,,ee72  
7,b7 by adding and at the end of        
subparagraph 7,,ff72 and  7,c7 by adding
 at the end the following new           
subparagraph3  7,,gg7 comprehensive     

,alzheimer's disease diagnosis and      
services 7as defined in subsection      
7iii772  2 and  7#b7 by adding at the   
end the following new subsection3  7iii7
 ,comprehensive ,alzheimer's disease    
diagnosis and services  7#a7 ,the term  
comprehensive ,alzheimer's disease      
diagnosis and services means the        
services described in paragraph 7#b7    
furnished to an individual--  7,a7 who  
does not already have a diagnosis of    
,alzheimer's disease2 and  7,b7 for whom
 a physician or a practitioner described
 in clause 7i71 7iv71 or 7v7 of section 
#ahdb7;b77#ah77;,c71 in a medical       
setting such as a physician's office1 a 
hospital1 a skilled nursing facility1 a 
community health center1 or another     
similar medical setting--  7i7 has      
detected the individual may have a      
cognitive impairment or dementia2 and   
7ii7 pursuant to such detection1 has    
determined a diagnostic evaluation for  
,alzheimer's disease is needed4  7#b7   
,the services described in this         

paragraph are the following3  7,a7 ,a   
diagnostic evaluation1 including        
referral to a specialist if recommended4
  7,b7 ,if the individual is diagnosed  
with ,alzheimer's disease under the     
diagnostic evaluation under subparagraph
 7,a71 care planning services 7with the 
individual1 with the personal           
representative of the individual1 or    
with one or more family caregivers of   
the individual with or without the      
presence of the individual71 including  
assistance understanding the diagnosis  
as well as the medical and non-medical  
options for ongoing treatment1 services1
 and supports1 and information about how
 to obtain such treatments1 services1   
and supports4 ,such care planning       
services for individuals diagnosed with 
,alzheimer's disease should take into   
consideration and address other         
co-morbid chronic conditions4  7,c7     
,medical record documentation1 with     
respect to an individual1 of the        
diagnostic evaluation under subparagraph

 7,a71 the diagnosis1 and any care      
planning services under subparagraph    
7,b74  7#c7 ,in this subsection--  7,a7 
the term ,alzheimer's disease means     
,alzheimer's disease and related        
dementias2 and  7,b7 the term personal  
representative means1 with respect to an
 individual1 a person legally authorized
 to make health care decisions on such  
individual's behalf4  4  7b7 ,payment   
,section #ahcc7;a77#a7 of the ,social   
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#aciel7a77#a77 is amended by striking   
and before 7,z7 and inserting before the
 semicolon at the end the following3 1  
and 7,,aa7 with respect to comprehensive
 ,alzheimer's disease diagnosis and     
services 7as defined in section         
#ahfa7;iii771 the amount paid shall be  
an amount equal to #hj percent of the   
amount determined under a fee schedule  
designated by the ,secretary4  7c7      
,effective date ,the amendments made by 
this section shall apply to services    
furnished on or after ,january #a of the

 year following the year which includes 
the date of the enactment of this ,act4