Lecanemab, marketed as Leqembi, could be a game-changer for people with Alzheimer’s disease — but only if they can get it.
A Food and Drug Administration panel has unanimously approved the use of lecanemab to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
But even though the FDA approved lecanemab through an accelerated approval process, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — which controls Medicare — will only cover the drug for patients who enroll in a national registry. That roadblock “is an unnecessary and potentially harmful barrier,” according to the Alzheimer’s Association.“Medicare is supposed to be a rock-solid guarantee for Americans, and it is time for CMS to step up and provide Medicare access on the day of an FDA traditional approval,”“Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease deserve access to FDA-approved therapies without barriers, just like people with cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS,” the advocacy group added.
Providing coverage for new and effective drugs for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia would save the public payers between $13.1 billion and $545.6 billion in health care costs over the course of 17 years,The CMS wants more information about lecanemab, even though the Department of Veterans Affairs has already decided to use it for patients in the VA system.
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