In a recent Reuters article, Mark Miller reports that Aduhelm, a controversial new treatment for Alzheimer’s, could result in a large increase in Medicare premiums in 2022.

In a controversial decision, the FDA recently approved Aduhelm for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. What makes this a potentially significant change for Medicare is that (a) the drug would be administered by healthcare providers rather than as a prescription drug (and therefore falls under Medicare Part B instead of Part D), (b) the treatment comes with a huge $56,000+ cost per patient annually, and (c) Alzheimer’s affects so many Americans on Medicare.

Miller reports that the Kaiser Family Foundations reports a conservative estimate for the cost of Aduhelm to Medicare at $29 billion per year, which “would nearly double Part B spending on drugs.”

As of right now, there’s still a lot of uncertainty around Aduhelm. Further guidance could restrict who should use the drug and Medicare itself could choose to limit coverage for the drug.

Nonetheless, Aduhelm could have a significant impact on Medicare Part B premiums, Medigap policies, and Medicare Advantage. And beyond increasing the cost of insurance, retirees who know they may have a use for the drug may also want to give careful consideration to the type of supplemental coverage they carry and coverage for treatment using Aduhelm under that coverage.