Axios Event: Access to Alzheimer's treatments is limited under coverage policies, experts say

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Access to new FDA approved Alzheimer's drugs has been limited by Medicare's coverage policies, experts said at an Axios event.

• Axios senior policy reporter Caitlin Owens and health care policy reporter Peter Sullivan moderated conversations with Alliance for Aging Research president and CEO Sue Peschin, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Fla.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and NIH BRAIN Initiative director Dr. John Ngai at the event. The event was sponsored by Lilly.

Why it matters: While innovations in cognitive health care have made progress in improving treatments for challenging diseases like Alzheimer's, many people face barriers to accessing care and medicines.

What they're saying: "What that means, in effect, is that only a small fraction of Medicare beneficiaries have gotten access to the two currently available early Alzheimer's treatments," Peschin said.

"It's been frustrating to me that often the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken such a shortsighted view," said Collins.

• "I felt that CMS got way outside its lane when it started restricting under the Medicare program access to these promising new drugs that had been approved by the FDA," she continued.

Issues of equity in access come into play when coverage is limited, Barragán said.

• "I first of all think any treatment should be available to everybody regardless of your income. So if the FDA is going to approve something, it should be available if you're on Medicare, and not just those who can afford it," Barragán said.

What we're watching: The continued trajectory of government funding dedicated to Alzheimer's.

• "Back in 2011, we were only spending $500 million on Alzheimer's and other dementias. Now we're spending $3.8 billion, and if the appropriations bill passes, we will cross the $4 billion threshold, so that's the difference that it makes," Collins said.

1 in 3 Americans are living with a disorder of the brain, Dr. Ngai noted.

• "The goal of the BRAIN Initiative is to develop new technologies that understand how this incredible machine works, so that we can figure out what goes wrong in disease and actually find cures. Not just treatments, but cures," he continued.

Sponsored content:

In a View From the Top sponsored segment, Eli Lilly and Company senior vice president of U.S. neuroscience Laura Steele said the recently FDA approved Alzheimer's drugs are able to slow the progression of the disease's symptoms through early intervention.

• "It gives them potential to have more time, because essentially what these agents can do is slow the progression into later stages," Steele said.