$56K Alzheimer’s drug avoiding cost curbs

WASHINGTON » A new $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s medication that’s leading to one of the biggest increases ever in Medicare premiums is highlighting the limitations of President Joe Biden’s strategy for curbing prescription drug costs.

The medication known as Aduhelm would be protected from Medicare price negotiations for more than a decade under the Democratic drug pricing compromise before Congress, part of Biden’s social agenda legislation. That’s because the bill doesn’t allow Medicare to negotiate over newly launched drugs, providing a window for drugmakers to recoup investments in research and development.