Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Aug 2021
Biogen offers free Alzheimer's drug as Medicare payment uncertainty remains
30 August 2021 - Biogen is providing its controversial and expensive new Alzheimer's drug free of charge for some patients amid slow claim reviews by Medicare, according to sources familiar with the situation, including a doctor treating patients with the drug.
The development underscores the division among doctors about whether the $56,000 a year drug helps patients and how uncertainty about reimbursement from Medicare, the U.S. government health plan for people over age 65, has held back prescriptions and sales.
In order to expedite treatment, Biogen has begun to provide Florida's First Choice Neurology with free-of-charge Aduhelm, according to Dr. Jeffrey Gelblum, a neurologist at the center's Aventura, Florida, operations.
