October 13, 2023
Medicare lifted the requirement that FDA-approved amyloid PET scans would only be covered if they were performed as part of a clinical trial, now enabling them to be ordered and interpreted in routine clinical practice when a person is being evaluated for possible Alzheimer’s disease. CMS also lifted the prior restriction of “once in a lifetime” for each person, presumably opening the door to repeat amyloid PET scans to monitor response to treatment with amyloid-lowering medications.
“We have developed 21st century tools to assist in the sensitive and specific diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases causing dementia, but have not been able to deliver these tools to many patients outside of research protocols. We are committed to advancing our understanding of these diseases through research—and we greatly appreciate many people’s participation—but these techniques should be available as part of routine care. We are pleased that they now are.” – Brad Dickerson, MD