The incredible progress made toward slowing the cognitive decline of early-stage Alzheimer’s should be cause for celebration; two new treatments for Alzheimer’s have been approved since 2021.
Unfortunately, a recent announcement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signals that access to a third innovative new drug will likely be significantly delayed. The FDA’s thorough review of drug’s clinical trial results is encouraging but does not help patients in need of treatment today and sets a concerning precedent for future therapies.
What’s worse is that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) already erected barriers to complicate patient access to these drugs, requiring physicians to enter their patients into a registry in order to receive coverage. Rural communities are uniquely impacted by this tragic disease, and these decisions that create additional barriers and delays.
The death rates from Alzheimer’s disease are significantly higher in rural parts of the country than they are in urban centers. And access to care in rural communities is limited at best.
Medical science is giving us the tools to bring hope to all early-stage Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones, and that should include rural patients as well. We are all hoping for a swift FDA review and - should additional treatments gain traditional approval - we hope CMS will quickly reverse the policies keeping these breakthrough treatments from being accessible to rural populations.
