U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) recently led a bipartisan contingent of 45 congressmen in urging the Biden administration to give Medicare beneficiaries access to federally approved treatments for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
“On behalf of the more than six million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their families, we are concerned about our constituents’ continued inability to access Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatments to slow cognitive decline for those with mild cognitive impairment and early AD,” the lawmakers wrote in a June 16 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
Specifically, Rep. LaHood and his colleagues urged HHS and CMS to reconsider the Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) requirements for FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies directed against amyloid for the treatment of AD.
“We still strongly believe CMS should open a reconsideration of the NCD [Medicare’s national coverage determination] to remove the CED requirements for FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid for the treatment of AD based on substantial new evidence published since the finalization of the NCD,” they wrote. “This overdue CMS action will ensure Medicare beneficiaries, including many of our constituents, living with MCI due to Alzheimer’s disease and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease have immediate access to FDA-approved treatments if the patient and clinician decide it is right for them.”
Rep. LaHood and his colleagues also asked Becerra and Brooks-LaSure to answer several questions, including why CMS has decided FDA-approved anti-amyloid treatments for AD are unreasonable and unnecessary for the Medicare population, among others.
“Processes that may delay coverage decisions by months or years can impose significant access delays, resulting in irreversible disease progression for beneficiaries living with Alzheimer’s, and added burdens for their caregivers and loved ones,” wrote the representatives. “Given the progressive nature of this terminal disease and the absence of treatment alternatives, delays would deny these Medicare beneficiaries the opportunity to benefit from this treatment.”
Their letter is supported by the Alzheimer’s Association.