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Donkees

(32,652 posts)
8. Latest on Jan 10, 2022 ...
Mon Jan 10, 2022, 10:54 AM
Jan 2022

WASHINGTON — Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Monday took the highly unusual step of ordering Medicare to reconsider a historic hike in premiums after Biogen slashed the price for its controversial Alzheimer’s drug in half.

“With the 50% price drop of Aduhelm on January 1, there is a compelling basis for CMS to reexamine the previous recommendation,” Becerra said in a written statement.

Medicare in November announced the program’s largest-ever premium increase for 2021, citing a uncertainty around the cost of Aduhelm, a new therapy for Alzheimer’s that has stoked controversy because of its questionable clinical benefit, high price, and potentially serious side effects.

Biogen cut the price of Aduhelm from $56,000 per year to $28,200 in December after dismal uptake of the drug. A number of prominent academic medical centers have refused to administer the drug.

Democrats in Congress have pressed Becerra to pressure Medicare to reconsider its premium decision as the midterm elections loom later this year and President Biden’s massive domestic spending package that would lower some health care costs has stalled.

https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/10/becerra-medicare-aduhelm-reconsider-price/



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