Medicare details plan to cover Alzheimer's treatments
Medicare Part B will cover treatments for Alzheimer's disease that receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, according to the federal agency that administers the program for seniors.
Anyone who has Medicare Part B and meets "eligibility criteria" will be covered for new antibody treatments such as Leqembi once the FDA approves them, said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on Thursday.
Part B is an optional part of the Medicare program for seniors that typically covers the costs of drugs patients cannot administer themselves, such as infusions.
The new policy will provide broader access to treatments, such as Leqembi, that slow cognitive decline.
But patients will have to participate in so-called registries that collect real-world data on how the drugs work.
Brooks-LaSure said the expanded coverage will go into effect on the same day the FDA approves an Alzheimer's antibody treatment. The FDA is expected to make a decision about Leqembi on July 6.
Source: CNBC
