Recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a new treatment for early stage Alzheimer’s disease may increase Medicare Part B premiums in 2024.

Medicare announced plans to cover Leqembi following its July 6 FDA approval. The drug reportedly will cost $26,500 a year, and with premiums set to cover about a quarter of program costs, it’s likely Medicare users would see Part B costs for 2024 higher than the $174.80 standard monthly premium predicted by Medicare’s board of trustees in their March report.

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A different Alzheimer’s medication, Aduhelm, was part of the reason behind a 15% Part B premium jump from 2021 to 2022, according to the nonprofit health policy research organization KFF. Medicare later decided to limit coverage of that drug to patients in official clinical trials, significantly reducing the number of covered beneficiaries and leading to the first Part B year-over-year premium decrease in more than a decade.

KFF estimates annual Medicare spending on Leqembi would be $2.7 billion based on drugmaker Eisai’s estimates, which would rank the drug third on the covered-medication cost list.

The new drug is not mentioned in the Medicare trustees’ report from March, which included these estimates for Medicare’s standard monthly premium in future years:

• 2024: $174.80
• 2025: $185.00
• 2026: $196.40
• 2027: $210.60
• 2028: $224.30
• 2029: $240.10
• 2030: $253.40
• 2031: $268.80
• 2032: $285.60

Medicare beneficiaries with around $100,000 or higher in a Medicare-specific form of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (married couples filing a joint tax return have a different income scale) pay an adjusted rate for Part B coverage by adding an Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) to the standard premium.

The five IRMAA brackets, which are adjusted annually for inflation, usually are announced in late September. Note: The income levels used by Medicare to determine the 2024 rate will be from 2022 tax returns, unless a lower amount is requested in connection with a life-changing event.

[RELATED: What Is IRMAA, and What Does It Mean for My Medicare Premium?]

MOAA Premium and Life members nearing age 65 can download this publication for information on transitioning into Medicare, including explanations on the types of premiums, details on using TRICARE For Life, and much more.