Breakthrough T1D applauds Representatives Kim Schrier (D-WA) and John Joyce (R-PA) and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) for introducing the Strengthening Collective Resources for Encouraging Education Needed (SCREEN) for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Act of 2026. The bipartisan legislation aims to increase awareness and improve screening and early detection of T1D.
The SCREEN for T1D Act would direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a national education campaign to highlight the benefits of T1D screening, early detection, and disease management. The bill also would ensure that evidence-based educational resources on T1D screening are shared with state and local health departments, schools, primary and pediatric care providers, and community health centers.
Screening and early detection of T1D can save lives, help people make important decisions about their health, and potentially change the course of the disease. Too often, children and adults are diagnosed only after becoming critically ill. Screening for T1D can be done through a simple blood test, and ongoing monitoring can help families avoid medical emergencies and take action sooner. In addition, following the FDA’s recent approval of Tzield for use in children as young as one year old to delay the onset of T1D, even more families stand to benefit from early screening—further increasing the urgency of this legislation.
“Breakthrough T1D applauds Representatives Schrier and Joyce and Senators Shaheen and Collins for introducing the SCREEN for Type 1 Diabetes Act, a bipartisan bill to promote awareness and early detection for type 1 diabetes,” said Lynn Starr, Breakthrough T1D’s Chief Global Advocacy Officer. “Too many people first learn of a T1D diagnosis in the emergency room during a medical crisis. Screening and early detection can change that by reducing the risk of life-threatening complications, giving individuals and families valuable time to prepare, and connecting them to clinical trials and therapies that may delay disease onset. As we continue advancing toward prevention and cures, we must ensure that families across the country can easily access screening and have the tools and information needed to respond.”
Breakthrough T1D will continue to work with lawmakers to advance this important legislation and ensure families nationwide have access to timely information and early detection tools.
More information about screening and early detection can be found at www.breakthrought1d.org/early-detection.
