![](https://i.imgur.com/CLvY2jA.png")
14-11-2021, 10:00 AM
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
yesterday
WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient premium will jump by US$21.60 a month in 2022, one of the largest increases ever.
......
The increase guarantees that health care will gobble up a big chunk of the recently announced Social Security cost-of-living allowance, a boost that had worked out to US$92 a month for the average retired worker, intended to help cover rising prices for gas and food that are pinching seniors.
Medicare officials told reporters on Friday that about half the increase is due to contingency planning if the program ultimately has to cover Aduhelm, the new US$56,000-a-year medication for Alzheimer’s disease from pharmaceutical company Biogen.
......
The jump of US$21.60 is the biggest increase ever in dollar terms, although not percentage-wise.
......
Aduhelm is the first Alzheimer’s medication in nearly 20 years. It doesn’t cure the life-sapping condition, but the Food and Drug Administration determined that its ability to reduce clumps of plaque in the brain is likely to slow dementia. However, many experts say that benefit has not been clearly demonstrated.
......
A nonprofit think tank focused on drug pricing pegged Adulhelm’s actual value at between US$3,000 and US$8,400 per year — not US$56,000 — based on its unproven benefits.
But Biogen has defended its pricing, saying it looked carefully at costs of advanced medications to treat cancer and other conditions.
https://apnews.com/article/medicare-heal...525c64afc4
yesterday
WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient premium will jump by US$21.60 a month in 2022, one of the largest increases ever.
......
The increase guarantees that health care will gobble up a big chunk of the recently announced Social Security cost-of-living allowance, a boost that had worked out to US$92 a month for the average retired worker, intended to help cover rising prices for gas and food that are pinching seniors.
Medicare officials told reporters on Friday that about half the increase is due to contingency planning if the program ultimately has to cover Aduhelm, the new US$56,000-a-year medication for Alzheimer’s disease from pharmaceutical company Biogen.
......
The jump of US$21.60 is the biggest increase ever in dollar terms, although not percentage-wise.
......
Aduhelm is the first Alzheimer’s medication in nearly 20 years. It doesn’t cure the life-sapping condition, but the Food and Drug Administration determined that its ability to reduce clumps of plaque in the brain is likely to slow dementia. However, many experts say that benefit has not been clearly demonstrated.
......
A nonprofit think tank focused on drug pricing pegged Adulhelm’s actual value at between US$3,000 and US$8,400 per year — not US$56,000 — based on its unproven benefits.
But Biogen has defended its pricing, saying it looked carefully at costs of advanced medications to treat cancer and other conditions.
https://apnews.com/article/medicare-heal...525c64afc4
