These limitations include: PET’s cost for research use (currently estimated at around $6,500); that it exposes patients to radiation; and that it’s not easily accessible outside of large cities.

Neither Medicare nor Medicaid will pay for Alzheimer’s scans, which cost upward of $5,000 a pop. And patients often must travel to major cities to get them. (Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s can also be ...

Medicare will remove limits on covering PET scans used to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, ... People on Medicare generally pay 20 percent of the cost of a PET scan after meeting their deductible.