Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease, yet there is division in its causes and treatment options. Leqembi, in a clinical trial, slowed cognitive decline by 27 percent over 18 months compared with a placebo. That represented a five-month delay in progression — dismissed as negligible by some but hailed as a milestone by others for a mainly untreatable malady.

The high price of new Alzheimer’s drugs will affect various stakeholders, including patients, healthcare systems, insurers, and the pharma industry. It will add billions to Medicare spending in a healthcare system trying to reduce costs. Here are some way it will impact our healthcare.

U.S. senators called for Medicare to offer broad coverage of Alzheimer’s treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration, warning that current restrictions cost patients precious time as their disease progresses. They are asking the FDA to approve a drug based on hope, not science.