Celebrating key milestones in improving patient access to Alzheimer’s care
The past 18 months have brought meaningful developments and renewed optimism in the Alzheimer’s disease space. ?This July there were two significant advancements: the U.S. FDA approved a second amyloid-targeting therapy for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to improve payments for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals in U.S. hospital outpatient settings for Medicare patients. These advancements represent a defining moment of hope for the future by overcoming barriers to treatment adoption and helping clinicians slow the progression of a debilitating disease that accounts for 60-80% of dementia cases and that currently has no cure.??
Lifting roadblocks to care
The new amyloid-targeting therapies require confirmation of brain amyloid for eligibility using either a lumbar puncture or a positron emission tomography (PET) scan – the only non-invasive method to directly visualize the location and extent of amyloid in the brain to support Alzheimer’s diagnosis. However, the availability of PET varies across the world, limiting access to treatment.
GE HealthCare has been committed to working with CMS and relevant stakeholders to support reimbursement and expanded coverage policies for Alzheimer’s diagnostics. After the CMS decision in October 2023 to expand reimbursement for amyloid PET imaging scans, GE HealthCare launched a support service to help patients navigate their insurance authorizations. PET amyloid imaging is covered in the majority of cases – we've been seeing a success rate of 96% for prior authorization of our amyloid PET imaging agent across various payors.
Under the proposed changes by CMS in July 2024, radiopharmaceuticals would be paid separately in U.S. hospital outpatient settings for Medicare patients. Previously, payment for a PET imaging agent was included as part of the payment for the imaging procedure, which did not adequately cover the provider’s costs and reduced availability of the procedure. . This important development not only has the potential to increase patient access to diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals but also ensures hospital providers receive appropriate payment for them.
In addition to PET, adoption of the anti-amyloid therapies involves a number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans before and during treatment for safety monitoring purposes. This workup places extra demands on already over-burdened systems and essential infrastructure needed to meet patients’ needs. We’ve been working closely with our customers to better understand their challenges and to help them enable the patient journey.
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Looking outside of the U.S. as approvals of new anti-amyloid therapies continue to grow across the globe, GE HealthCare is focused on helping health systems as they navigate treatment pathways and supporting improved reimbursement to help overcome barriers to care.
Future focused
We’ve reached an exciting time in the battle against Alzheimer’s disease as medical technologies and targeted treatments hold potential to benefit millions of patients living with Alzheimer’s worldwide.? GE HealthCare has been preparing for this moment for years. Our technology ? combining MR,PET scanners, and our amyloid PET imaging agent with our digital solutions – enables us to support the entire Alzheimer’s care area across diagnosis, therapy planning and delivery, and monitoring.
The number of people worldwide living with dementia is expected to double every 20 years , ?growing from 55 million in 2020 to 78 million in 2030 and 139 million by 2050. As new therapies targeting brain amyloid emerge, the demand for precise and non-invasive imaging will continue to grow. GE HealthCare is uniquely positioned to support the growth in diagnostic and molecular imaging and continues to invest in new solutions to meet the future needs of global healthcare providers and patients living with Alzheimer’s.?
Although the Alzheimer’s therapy journey is still in the early stages, I am optimistic about the benefit for patients and am proud of the progress our industry is making in supporting the delivery of healthcare to make a difference in the lives of patients and their caregivers.?
Read a firsthand experience from caregiver, Connie , who remains hopeful for the future of Alzheimer’s disease treatment.
GE Healthcare Marketeer / Story Teller & Synergy Creator
2 个月I am so glad to see that we as GE HealthCare stay optimistic about the advances in therapy today and tomorrow and that this company contributess to diagnostic confidence. This is so essential to enable timely and effective treatment plans. Because time is the most precious thing you & I have - especially for people who suffer from Alzheimer's.
Textile Artist / Freelance Graphic Designer / Art Teacher
2 个月Thank you so much for talking about this incredibly important subject. Alzheimer's is such an awful disease that affects not only those who have it, but also their whole support system. My grandmother had it, my mother had it, my mother-in-law has it now, and I will probably get it in the future. Another way to help is to donate to the Alzheimer's Association?. This is the 6th year in a row that my family have been fundraising for them, and it would mean so much to us all if you could donate to the cause and help?us?find?a?cure. https://act.alz.org/goto/chaihopes2024
Compliance Leader at GE HealthCare - Improper Payment Prevention Center Of Excellence
2 个月From 2009 to 2014 I was the director of a nursing home that had a unit specializing in neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer, Parkinson, Lewy body dementia, etc.). At that time we knew things about Alzheimer's disease but the teams had to take care of patients most of the time with an empirical or deductive approach based on lessons from past experiences. Improving knowledge of the disease and its medical treatment is a great hope for those (patients, family, close caregivers) who continue to suffer directly or indirectly the effects of this disease. It brings back memories, it makes me optimistic.
Senior Global Leader-Ombuds and Compliance Programs at GE Healthcare
2 个月So proud to work for this company! Losing a loved one to dementia/alzheimer’s is awful. Anything clinicians can do to slow the progression is essential to giving families more time and more memories.
General Manager GE HealthCare UKI
2 个月Unfortunately I have first hand experience of this awful condition through my mum who was diagnosed with altzheimers 3 years ago. Wonderful to hear of such developments.