Medicare Part B will increase from $148.50/month to $170.10/month. The $21 increase is the largest in history; last year premiums went up just $3/month. The new premium will eat up a large portion of the increase in Social Security announced recently. Half of the massive increase is being attributed to covering the cost of a single drug.

Medicare is setting aside money to cover the drug Aduhelm, a new Alzheimer's drug which may slow the advance of the brain disorder. The drug is priced at $56,000 annually. It is covered under Part B because it must be administered by IV in a doctor's office.

If just 500,000 Medicare recipients went on the drug, total spending on Aduhelm would be nearly $29 Billion. Put in perspective, in 2019 total Medicare spending on Part B drugs was $37 billion.

The Part B deductible will also increase by $30, going to $233 from $203.


[www.aarp.org]

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

Isn’t this the drug where most of the doctor's reviewing it said it didn’t work?

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

From wikipedia: "Aducanumab was approved for medical use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2021,[5] in a controversial decision that led to the resignation of three advisers to the FDA in the absence of evidence that the drug is effective.[6][7][8][9][10] The FDA stated that it represents a first-of-its-kind treatment approved for Alzheimer's disease and that it is the first new treatment approved for Alzheimer's since 2003.[1] Aducanumab's approval is controversial due to ambiguous clinical trial results surrounding its efficacy.[11] In November 2020, a panel of outside experts for the FDA concluded that a pivotal study of aducanumab failed to show "strong evidence" that the drug worked, citing questionable efficacy and multiple "red flags" found with the data analysis.[12] Nevertheless, the drug was approved under the FDA's accelerated approval pathway, and the FDA requires Biogen to perform a follow-up study to see if the drug helps treat symptoms of Alzheimer's.[1][13]"

I hope it works, but this is not an auspicious beginning. For that price, I'd rather see "trials halted due to overwhelming success so that control patients could also be treated."

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rgG
Isn’t this the drug where most of the doctor's reviewing it said it didn’t work?

What a surprise...just like every other Alzheimer's drug.

Shouldn't even be under consideration for Medicare reimbursement.

And I thought Namenda was pricey...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2021 06:39PM by Bill in NC.

Wow

There is a big move to get everyone to use Medicaid Advantage. This is a huge boost for that.

Acting FDA commissioner called for a federal investigation of the decision to approve that drug.

Ok, Medicare has a cost-effective history, but the idea it is a good option "for all" has just gone out the window. This is how it becomes a way to extract large sums of money.

At least now you can choose not to pay ridiculous rates, and die uninsured. But if you have to pay by law, they can take whatever big business decides they want.

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kj
Ok, Medicare has a cost-effective history, but the idea it is a good option "for all" has just gone out the window. This is how it becomes a way to extract large sums of money.

At least now you can choose not to pay ridiculous rates, and die uninsured. But if you have to pay by law, they can take whatever big business decides they want.

That wasn't a function of free market economics, it was the result of a political bribe by big pharma.

All of those "XXXXXXXumab" drugs are so expensive and must be administered by IV or expensive self injection systems. They are all heavily advertised on TV. Watch 30 minutes of national network news and you'll see long commercials for at least 4 of them for treating Crohn's, Psoriasis and other conditions.
They all come with a huge list of side effects, which often seem worse than the disease itself.

So far I have managed to avoid them for Crohn's...I am 100% in favor of vaccinations but when it comes to some of the other big Pharma products, I am happy to just say no to drugs.

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

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Markintosh
They are all heavily advertised on TV.

Yeah, the civilized nations have all banned advertisements for meds.

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Markintosh
All of those "XXXXXXXumab" drugs are so expensive and must be administered by IV or expensive self injection systems. They are all heavily advertised on TV. Watch 30 minutes of national network news and you'll see long commercials for at least 4 of them for treating Crohn's, Psoriasis and other conditions.
They all come with a huge list of side effects, which often seem worse than the disease itself.

So far I have managed to avoid them for Crohn's...I am 100% in favor of vaccinations but when it comes to some of the other big Pharma products, I am happy to just say no to drugs.

I always wondered if those "can extended life by a few months" meds you see on TV, targeted towards end-stage cancer patients are paid for by Medicare.