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This historically high increase in Medicare's Part B monthly premium is "unsupportable" and should be lowered, given the dramatic price cut of the Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, AARP says in a Jan. 25 letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Becerra this month ordered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is part of HHS, to reassess the Part B premium increase in light of the Aduhelm price drop. Medicare Part B covers doctor visits, diagnostic tests and other outpatient services.
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The 2022 monthly premium was set at $170.10, up from $148.50 in 2021. That $21.60 hike was the largest dollar Part B basic premium increase in the health insurance program's history.
Among the reasons CMS gave for the outsize increase was that it needed to set aside money in its reserves in the event it decides to cover Aduhelm, the new Alzheimer's drug approved in June by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At the time, Biogen, the manufacturer, estimated the drug's price would be $56,000 a year per patient. Since then, and after considerable pushback, Biogen cut its price estimate roughly in half, saying the drug would cost $28,200 annually effective Jan. 1. CMS has issued a proposal to cover Aduhelm on a limited basis for people enrolled in clinical trials. The agency is expected to make a final decision in April about covering the medication.
Becerra said in a one-paragraph statement Jan. 10 that with the 50 percent Aduhelm price drop, there is "a compelling basis" for CMS to reexamine its Part B premium increase.
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