Being Patient
Alexandra Marvar
As of a landmark policy change in October 2023, Medicare now covers PET scans to look for Alzheimer’s biomarker beta-amyloid in the brain for the general public. Up to this point, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had refused to provide general Medicare coverage for Beta Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography scans (PET scans or amyloid PET scans for short), an often critical diagnostic tool in getting an accurate Alzheimer’s diagnosis and access to treatment. Now, a policy change — proposed in July 2023 — to undo restrictions on coverage of this procedure has been finalized. While Medicare coverage is now technically available for amyloid PET scans, this is a very recent change and patients should confirm with their doctors and plan providers that this is the case before the procedure.