Estimated Annual Spending on Lecanemab and Its Ancillary Costs in the US Medicare Program.

Lecanemab, an antidementia medication with modest clinical benefit, received accelerated US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Traditional FDA approval of lecanemab could occur in 2023, prompting Medicare to reconsider coverage restrictions and potentially enabling widespread use. Lecanemab’s $26 500 proposed annual acquisition cost and ancillary spending (eg, imaging) could increase Medicare spending, possibly leading to beneficiary premium increases. To estimate annual Medicare spending on lecanemab, we performed a cost analysis using nationally representative survey data from the 2018 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).