WASHINGTON — The health care system is on the precipice of broad access to a treatment for Alzheimer’s for the first time — and it’s scrambling to figure out how to handle it.
Right now, most people with mild cognitive impairment who would qualify for Eisai and Biogen’s drug Leqembi are in the Medicare program, which has restricted which patients can receive the medication to those who are enrolled in clinical trials. But the floodgates could open if the Food and Drug Administration grants the drug full, traditional approval in the coming weeks.
Even a few weeks out from a major decision, many unanswered questions remain.