{"id":1470029,"date":"2026-05-11T04:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/?p=1470029"},"modified":"2026-05-09T12:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T16:51:20","slug":"medicare-spending-less-than-expected-alzheimers-drugs-leqembi-kisunla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2026\/05\/11\/medicare-spending-less-than-expected-alzheimers-drugs-leqembi-kisunla\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicare is spending far less than expected on new Alzheimer\u2019s drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>People on Medicare are not getting the recently approved Alzheimer\u2019s medications nearly as much as federal officials anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uptake for the drugs, Leqembi and Kisunla, has been so muted that Medicare is not forecasting significant spending on them in 2026 or 2027, a spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told STAT. It\u2019s a dramatic shift from two years ago, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2024\/04\/11\/medicare-will-spend-billions-on-alzheimers-drug-leqembi-eisai-biogen\/\">Medicare projected<\/a> it would spend billions of dollars annually on Leqembi alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lower-than-expected spending lines up with the challenges that the Alzheimer\u2019s drugs have faced since their approvals, neurologists and Medicare experts told STAT: The intravenous medications are not easy to administer and require a lot of imaging; the population of eligible patients is limited; and the drugs continue to have little meaningful benefits while carrying a risk of severe side effects like brain bleeding.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adoption has been slow with new Alzheimer\u2019s drugs because the treatments are complicated to administer and the benefits are uncertain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":638,"featured_media":1470310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"stat_display_restriction_not_latest":false,"stat_featured_image_caption":"Medicare payments for Alzheimer's medications are coming in well below forecasts.","stat_featured_image_nocrop":false,"stat_featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"stat_article_wordmark_img":[],"stat_article_wordmark_url":"","stat_article_wordmark_height":"125px","stat_article_wordmark_enable":false,"stat_article_subheadline":"Complicated use and uncertain benefits of Leqembi and Kisunla stunt uptake","stat_paywall_restrict":true,"footnotes":"","stat_article_enhanced_byline":"Bob Herman is the author of <a href=\"\/signup\/health-care-inc\/\">Health Care Inc.<\/a>, an award-winning weekly newsletter about the business of health and medicine.","stat_article_newsletter_id":"dc_diagnosis","stat_article_header_color_scheme":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":2304,"stat_paywall_move_flag":0},"categories":[3292,52,2304,202618,5318,8649],"tags":[1887,2655,3633,1246,267,1649,2251,666,669,5393],"authors":[202482],"class_list":["post-1470029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biotech","category-business","category-exclusive","category-insurance","category-pharma","category-politics","tag-biogen","tag-biotechnology","tag-cms","tag-drug-development","tag-drug-prices","tag-eli-lilly","tag-pharmaceuticals","tag-policy","tag-public-health","tag-stat-plus"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/s3___bgmp-arc_arc-feeds_generic-photos_to-arc_kreiter03252024alzheimers15-1024x683.jpg","coauthors":[{"avatar":"<img width=\"80\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round-80x80.png\" class=\"avatar\" alt=\"Bob Herman\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 625px) and (max-width: 767px) 719px, (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 899px) 835px, (min-width: 900px) and (max-width: 1023px) 635px, (min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1199px) 803px, (min-width: 1200px) and (max-width: 1439px) 994px, (min-width: 1440px) 982px, 576px\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round-80x80.png 80w, https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round-328x328.png 328w, https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round-576x576.png 576w, https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round-160x160.png 160w, https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bob-h-avatar-round.png 600w\" \/>","display_name":"Bob Herman","author_page":"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/staff\/bob-herman\/","first_name":"Bob","title":"Business of Health Care Reporter","bio":"Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, physicians, and other providers \u2014 reporting on how money influences those businesses and shapes what we all pay for care. He is also the author of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/signup\/health-care-inc\/\">Health Care Inc. newsletter<\/a>. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.","email_address":"bob.herman@statnews.com","email_url":"mailto:bob.herman@statnews.com","twitter_url":"https:\/\/x.com\/bobjherman","twitter_handle":"@bobjherman","facebook_url":"","linkedin_url":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bob-herman-91b54611\/","web_url":"","bluesky_url":"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/bobjherman.bsky.social","bluesky_handle":"@bobjherman.bsky.social"}],"stat_card_curation":{"image_id":1470310,"title":"","excerpt":"","video_id":0,"disable_topic_image_curation":false},"template_inline_styles":{"global_styles":":root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4\/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3\/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3\/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2\/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16\/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9\/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: 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var(--wp--preset--color--gold-20) !important;}.has-gold-10-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-10) !important;}.has-skin-70-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-70) !important;}.has-skin-60-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-60) !important;}.has-skin-50-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-50) !important;}.has-skin-40-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-40) !important;}.has-skin-30-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-30) !important;}.has-skin-20-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-20) !important;}.has-skin-10-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-10) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-teal-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-50) !important;}.has-grey-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-10) !important;}.has-grey-80-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-80) !important;}.has-grey-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-40) !important;}.has-teal-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-10) !important;}.has-blue-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-70) !important;}.has-blue-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-60) !important;}.has-blue-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-50) !important;}.has-blue-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-40) !important;}.has-blue-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-30) !important;}.has-blue-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-20) !important;}.has-blue-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-10) !important;}.has-teal-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-70) !important;}.has-teal-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-60) !important;}.has-teal-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-40) !important;}.has-teal-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-30) !important;}.has-teal-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-20) !important;}.has-forest-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-70) !important;}.has-forest-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-60) !important;}.has-forest-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-50) !important;}.has-forest-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-40) !important;}.has-forest-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-30) !important;}.has-forest-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-20) !important;}.has-forest-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-10) !important;}.has-green-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-70) !important;}.has-green-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-60) !important;}.has-green-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-50) !important;}.has-green-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-40) !important;}.has-green-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-30) !important;}.has-green-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-20) !important;}.has-green-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-10) !important;}.has-lime-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-70) !important;}.has-lime-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-60) !important;}.has-lime-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-50) !important;}.has-lime-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-40) !important;}.has-lime-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-30) !important;}.has-lime-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-20) !important;}.has-lime-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-10) !important;}.has-yellow-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-70) !important;}.has-yellow-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-60) !important;}.has-yellow-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-50) !important;}.has-yellow-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-40) !important;}.has-yellow-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-30) !important;}.has-yellow-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-20) !important;}.has-yellow-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-10) !important;}.has-peach-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-70) !important;}.has-peach-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-60) !important;}.has-peach-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-50) !important;}.has-peach-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-40) !important;}.has-peach-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-30) !important;}.has-peach-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-20) !important;}.has-peach-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-10) !important;}.has-plum-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-70) !important;}.has-plum-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-60) !important;}.has-plum-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-50) !important;}.has-plum-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-40) !important;}.has-plum-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-30) !important;}.has-plum-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-20) !important;}.has-plum-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-10) !important;}.has-grey-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-70) !important;}.has-grey-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-60) !important;}.has-grey-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-50) !important;}.has-grey-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-30) !important;}.has-grey-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-20) !important;}.has-beige-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-70) !important;}.has-beige-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-60) !important;}.has-beige-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-50) !important;}.has-beige-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-40) !important;}.has-beige-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-30) !important;}.has-beige-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-20) !important;}.has-beige-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-10) !important;}.has-gold-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-70) !important;}.has-gold-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-60) !important;}.has-gold-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-50) !important;}.has-gold-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-40) !important;}.has-gold-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-30) !important;}.has-gold-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-20) !important;}.has-gold-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-10) !important;}.has-skin-70-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-70) !important;}.has-skin-60-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-60) !important;}.has-skin-50-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-50) !important;}.has-skin-40-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-40) !important;}.has-skin-30-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-30) !important;}.has-skin-20-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-20) !important;}.has-skin-10-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--skin-10) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-teal-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-50) !important;}.has-grey-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-10) !important;}.has-grey-80-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-80) !important;}.has-grey-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-40) !important;}.has-teal-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-10) !important;}.has-blue-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-70) !important;}.has-blue-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-60) !important;}.has-blue-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-50) !important;}.has-blue-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-40) !important;}.has-blue-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-30) !important;}.has-blue-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-20) !important;}.has-blue-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--blue-10) !important;}.has-teal-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-70) !important;}.has-teal-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-60) !important;}.has-teal-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-40) !important;}.has-teal-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-30) !important;}.has-teal-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--teal-20) !important;}.has-forest-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-70) !important;}.has-forest-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-60) !important;}.has-forest-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-50) !important;}.has-forest-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-40) !important;}.has-forest-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-30) !important;}.has-forest-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-20) !important;}.has-forest-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--forest-10) !important;}.has-green-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-70) !important;}.has-green-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-60) !important;}.has-green-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-50) !important;}.has-green-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-40) !important;}.has-green-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-30) !important;}.has-green-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-20) !important;}.has-green-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--green-10) !important;}.has-lime-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-70) !important;}.has-lime-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-60) !important;}.has-lime-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-50) !important;}.has-lime-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-40) !important;}.has-lime-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-30) !important;}.has-lime-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-20) !important;}.has-lime-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--lime-10) !important;}.has-yellow-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-70) !important;}.has-yellow-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-60) !important;}.has-yellow-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-50) !important;}.has-yellow-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-40) !important;}.has-yellow-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-30) !important;}.has-yellow-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-20) !important;}.has-yellow-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--yellow-10) !important;}.has-peach-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-70) !important;}.has-peach-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-60) !important;}.has-peach-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-50) !important;}.has-peach-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-40) !important;}.has-peach-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-30) !important;}.has-peach-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-20) !important;}.has-peach-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--peach-10) !important;}.has-plum-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-70) !important;}.has-plum-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-60) !important;}.has-plum-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-50) !important;}.has-plum-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-40) !important;}.has-plum-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-30) !important;}.has-plum-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-20) !important;}.has-plum-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--plum-10) !important;}.has-grey-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-70) !important;}.has-grey-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-60) !important;}.has-grey-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-50) !important;}.has-grey-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-30) !important;}.has-grey-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--grey-20) !important;}.has-beige-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-70) !important;}.has-beige-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-60) !important;}.has-beige-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-50) !important;}.has-beige-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-40) !important;}.has-beige-30-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-30) !important;}.has-beige-20-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-20) !important;}.has-beige-10-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--beige-10) !important;}.has-gold-70-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-70) !important;}.has-gold-60-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-60) !important;}.has-gold-50-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-50) !important;}.has-gold-40-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--gold-40) 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