STAT+: Medicare’s miss on Alzheimer’s drug spending

STAT PlusNewsletterHealth Care Inc. Newsletter Medicare’s miss on Alzheimer’s drug spending You’re reading STAT’s Health Care Inc. newsletter Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Bob HermanMay 11, 2026 Business of Health Care Reporter Bob Herman[email protected]Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, physicians, and other providers — reporting on how money influences those businesses and shapes what we all pay for care.

He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

This is the online version of STAT’s weekly email newsletter Health Care Inc. Sign up here. Did you know the U.S.

Mint requires gold coins to be made with American-made gold, but instead it gets illegally mined gold that can be traced back to a Colombian drug cartel? Truly mind-blowing stuff from this New York Times investigation. Let me know what the health care angle is on that one: [email protected].Advertisement It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future Two years ago, my old pal Rachel Cohrs Zhang and I reported how Medicare’s actuaries predicted the new Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi would cost the program $3.5 billion in 2025.

It turns out that prediction was way off. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts.

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2-10 Users $300 Annually per user $300/year Get Started $300 Annually per user View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Log In CMS, drug development, government agencies, insurance, legal, Medicare, Pharmaceuticals, Policy, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Bob Herman Business of Health Care Reporter Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, physicians, and other providers — reporting on how money influences those businesses and shapes what we all pay for care. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc.

newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09. Newsletter Unpacking the business — and secretive inner workings — of the U.S.

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