Washington, DC, February 23, 2023 – Voices of Alzheimer’s, an advocacy organization led by people affected by cognitive diseases, expressed extreme disappointment today over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to continue its tight restrictions on paying for monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

In response to a formal request submitted by the Alzheimer's Association, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has refused to change its policy, severely limiting access to new, disease-modifying treatments for people living Alzheimer's disease.  

CMS declined to change its policy in the face of significant and compelling evidence regarding new treatments, and in the face of outcry from the patient advocacy community.  The policy demonstrates discrimination against people with Alzheimer’s, as CMS provides coverage for all FDA-approved drugs except for this specific class of treatments.

“We believe that CMS is standing by the decision to deny medically necessary care because they want to control costs,” said Jim Taylor, President and CEO of Voices of Alzheimer’s.  “CMS is denying access in a way that particularly affects people who are already facing other systemic disadvantages,” he added.

“As a person living with Alzheimer’s, I am astounded and infuriated CMS would keep Medicare beneficiaries from receiving treatment.  The advances we have seen in new treatments have given us hope – I feel like CMS is taking away part of my life,” said Terrie Montgomery, a founding Board member of Voices of Alzheimer's. 

Each day that treatment access is delayed by Medicare, an estimated 2,000 people transition from mild to more advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, experiencing the devastating symptoms of cognitive decline, and also becoming ineligible for treatment according to FDA guidelines.

Learn more on the Voices of Alzheimer’s website, and on social media through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

VoicesOfAD.com

@VoicesOfAlz

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