Cost-effectiveness and impact at scale of collaborative care and lecanemab for Alzheimer's disease

Kelly J. Atkins; James Kahn; Katherine Possin

doi:10.1002/bsa3.70054

Cost-effectiveness and impact at scale of collaborative care and lecanemab for Alzheimer's disease

Kelly J. Atkins
, James Kahn
, Katherine Possin

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION
Advancements in disease-modifying therapies and collaborative dementia care programs have created opportunities to transform care for people with Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS
We modeled people aged 71 across three scenarios: 18 months of lecanemab, collaborative care, and combined interventions. Outcomes included quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), 2024 costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as appropriate.

RESULTS
Per person, collaborative care (vs usual care) increased QALYs by 0.26 with savings of $48,000 (dominant); adding lecanemab to collaborative care yielded an additional 0.16 QALYs at a total cost per QALY of $218,000 (societal perspective) and $248,000 (healthcare perspective). When scaled to the US population, lecanemab yielded 180,000 QALYs at a cost of $39.5 billion; collaborative care yielded 1.5 million QALYs and saved $300 billion. Findings were robust to uncertainties.

DISCUSSION
Collaborative dementia care offers health and economic benefits and should be prioritized for widespread implementation.

Original language	English
Article number	e70054
Number of pages	13
Journal	Alzheimer's and Dementia: Behavior and Socioeconomics of Aging
Volume	2
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/bsa3.70054
Publication status	Published - Mar 2026
Externally published	Yes

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10.1002/bsa3.70054Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Cost-effectiveness and impact at scale of collaborative care and lecanemab for Alzheimer's disease",

abstract = "INTRODUCTION Advancements in disease-modifying therapies and collaborative dementia care programs have created opportunities to transform care for people with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS We modeled people aged 71 across three scenarios: 18 months of lecanemab, collaborative care, and combined interventions. Outcomes included quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), 2024 costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as appropriate. RESULTS Per person, collaborative care (vs usual care) increased QALYs by 0.26 with savings of \$48,000 (dominant); adding lecanemab to collaborative care yielded an additional 0.16 QALYs at a total cost per QALY of \$218,000 (societal perspective) and \$248,000 (healthcare perspective). When scaled to the US population, lecanemab yielded 180,000 QALYs at a cost of \$39.5 billion; collaborative care yielded 1.5 million QALYs and saved \$300 billion. Findings were robust to uncertainties. DISCUSSION Collaborative dementia care offers health and economic benefits and should be prioritized for widespread implementation.",

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AU - Kahn, James

AU - Possin, Katherine

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N2 - INTRODUCTION Advancements in disease-modifying therapies and collaborative dementia care programs have created opportunities to transform care for people with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS We modeled people aged 71 across three scenarios: 18 months of lecanemab, collaborative care, and combined interventions. Outcomes included quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), 2024 costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as appropriate. RESULTS Per person, collaborative care (vs usual care) increased QALYs by 0.26 with savings of $48,000 (dominant); adding lecanemab to collaborative care yielded an additional 0.16 QALYs at a total cost per QALY of $218,000 (societal perspective) and $248,000 (healthcare perspective). When scaled to the US population, lecanemab yielded 180,000 QALYs at a cost of $39.5 billion; collaborative care yielded 1.5 million QALYs and saved $300 billion. Findings were robust to uncertainties. DISCUSSION Collaborative dementia care offers health and economic benefits and should be prioritized for widespread implementation.

AB - INTRODUCTION Advancements in disease-modifying therapies and collaborative dementia care programs have created opportunities to transform care for people with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS We modeled people aged 71 across three scenarios: 18 months of lecanemab, collaborative care, and combined interventions. Outcomes included quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), 2024 costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as appropriate. RESULTS Per person, collaborative care (vs usual care) increased QALYs by 0.26 with savings of $48,000 (dominant); adding lecanemab to collaborative care yielded an additional 0.16 QALYs at a total cost per QALY of $218,000 (societal perspective) and $248,000 (healthcare perspective). When scaled to the US population, lecanemab yielded 180,000 QALYs at a cost of $39.5 billion; collaborative care yielded 1.5 million QALYs and saved $300 billion. Findings were robust to uncertainties. DISCUSSION Collaborative dementia care offers health and economic benefits and should be prioritized for widespread implementation.

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