Lou Portero

Urban Health Today

On January 11, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the highly anticipated National Coverage Determination (&ldquo;NCD&rdquo;) decision for anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease.Although this decision is still awaiting public comment and further agency evaluation before final decisions are made on April 11, it has sparked numerous discussions&mdash; good and bad.This coverage decision, if accepted would mean that Medicare will only cover the bills of patients with anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies (specifically, Biogen&rsquo;s drug Aduhelm) who have participated in clinical trials to determine whether the drug showed a significant difference in effectiveness in terms of decline in cognition and function, and safety.Biogen has argued that Medicare&rsquo;s decisions were not in favor of patients with Alzheimer&rsquo;s as the clinical trials can take months or years to complete. According to Biogen, &ldquo;hundreds of Alzheimer&rsquo;s patients&hellip;are progressing each day from mild to moderate disease stages where treatment may no longer be an option.&rdquo;Many believe Medicare&rsquo;s decision was made because of the exorbitant cost of Aduhelm, which was a problem for Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs. However, Medicare officials have stressed that clinical trials are being conducted to determine the effectiveness and necessity of using these drugs to treat Alzheimer&rsquo;s patients enrolled in the program, and not because of the cost of Aduhelm.Biogen originally marketed Aduhelm at a price of $56,000 per year, which resulted in a nearly $22 increase in Medicare&rsquo;s monthly &ldquo;Part B&rdquo; premium for outpatient care. Medicare attributed their plan&rsquo;s price increase to the exorbitant cost of Aduhelm. After careful consideration, Biogen lowered the price of the drug to $28,200, which has prompted Medicare to reconsider its premium increase.Source: <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/medicare-limits-coverage-28-000-213046952.html">https://news.yahoo.com/medicare-limits-coverage-28-000-213046952.html</a>

Hidden Dangers: The Blood Sugar Crisis in Modern Breast Cancer Treatment

Diabetes in Women

New ACG Guidelines Address Critical Gastric Cancer Disparities in Non-White Americans

Gastroenterology

Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to Increased Ovarian and Breast Cancer Risk

Gynecologic Cancer

Latest News

Medicare’s Decision for Coverage of Alzheimer’s Drug Aduhelm

Alzheimer's & Dementia

On January 11, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the highly anticipated National Coverage ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Contributors & Partners

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Work With Us

Advertising

Career Center

GU Oncology Now

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

DocWire News

MashupMD

Food Allergy Roundtable Discussions

Allergy

Blood Cancers

— Multiple Myeloma

Breast Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Cancer

Diabetes

Heart Failure

Heart Disease Prevention

Heart Health

— Alzheimer’s Disease

Neurology

Public Health

Autoimmune Disease

Infectious Diseases

Obesity

Pediatrics

Sickle Cell Disease

Digital Health

Dermatology

Pulmonology

Video Insights

Workforce News

More

Heart Disease in Women

Menopause

Reproductive Health

Women’s Neurology

Well Woman Today

Roundtables

Podcasts

Conferences

Viewpoints

Subscribe