BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a total of $1,703,626
This grant will support researchers as they study how lungs may be changed during AD progression and how lung inflammatory stress may exacerbate the disease.
Background
In 2022, Senator Cramer joined colleagues in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure requesting reconsideration of the 2013 national coverage determination (NCD) brain imaging procedures used for diagnosing AD. NCD restricts brain imaging for Medicare recipients to a single scan during a person’s lifetime, contingent on a patient’s enrollment in a clinical trial.
Senator Cramer also joined colleagues in urging the Bidenadministration to direct HHS to establish a national goal to prevent ADand related dementias, and to develop a research and coordination plan to achieve this goal.