PharmedOut leaders are spreading misinformation when they say Medicare’s coverage requirement for early Alzheimer’s patients to access FDA-approved drugs puts “no burden on the patient” (“The danger to patients of pharma-funded surveys,” Dec. 2).

In fact, Medicare mandates that, for patients to have coverage for early Alzheimer’s therapies, they must participate in a clinical study. The study data is collected in a registry, but the registry itself is not the study. If a patient does not want to participate in such a study to get the therapy covered, they would have to either pay out of their own pocket or relinquish access.

The authors neglect to mention that Medicare’s restrictive policy has only ever been applied to these early Alzheimer’s therapies. No other FDA-approved drug for any disease has these Medicare coverage requirements, so we wanted to know how likely voters felt about that. It turns out, they overwhelmingly think it’s unfair, regardless of their political party. We can only guess that the authors didn’t like those results, but we’re not sure why.

Sue Peschin, MHS
Ms. Peschin is President and
CEO of the Alliance For Aging Research.

First Published: December 15, 2024, 2:00 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA — Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo grades each aspect of the Steelers’ 27-13 loss against the Eagles.

Quarterback

Russell Wilson wasn’t getting much help from his receivers, but he had his worst outing as a Steeler, finishing the game with 14 completions for only 128 yards. The Steelers constantly faced 3rd-and-long situations due to penalties, and he didn’t make any deep connections with his receivers to change the tenor of the game. He was put in a lot of unfavorable circumstances, but the bottom line is he didn’t elevate the offense when things got tough. The offense could have used backup Justin Fields more in this game, but he did not return after he injured his abdomen in the first half. 

Grade: C

Running backs

Have we all seen enough of the tosses to Najee Harris? He doesn’t have the speed to get to the edge and — to make matters worse — he fumbled on a perfect pitch from Wilson when the Steelers were going in for the tying score midway through the third quarter.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WATCH: Can Steelers offense function without George Pickens?

If they’re going to run that play, they should have Jaylen Warren in the game. Harris had perhaps his worst game in his four seasons with the Steelers, as he finished with 14 yards on six carries. Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson weren’t much better when they got carries.

Grade: F

Receivers

Life without George Pickens is not fun. The coaches better figure something out before Saturday’s game in Baltimore or they’ll be coming home tied at the top of the division. Calvin Austin III was the leading receiver with five catches for 65 yards, and 31 of them had to be schemed up on a flea flicker. None of the other receivers could get open. General manager Omar Khan traded a fifth-round pick to acquire Mike Williams, and for what? They refuse to use him. He was targeted twice and had one catch for 15 yards. Tight end Pat Freiermuth had the Steelers’ only touchdown. Here’s a hint for Arthur Smith: Play him more and target him more when Pickens is out. He’s their best remaining receiver and he gets lost amid Smith’s penchant for changing personnel all the time.

Grade: F

Offensive line

It created no space for the running game and managed to make things worse by taking ill-timed penalties. Dan Moore Jr. was called for holding and Zach Frazier for tripping when the Steelers were driving in the second half. The 15-yard personal foul was costly. The Eagles have a great front seven, and it’s abundantly clear the line has miles to go before it can stand toe to toe with the NFL’s best.

Grade: F

Defensive line

Cam Heyward had five tackles and drew a holding penalty, but he didn’t get much help from the other defensive linemen. Dean Lowry got the start for the injured Larry Ogunjobi and finished with just one tackle. Montravius Adams was activated off injured reserve and had a personal foul call on a field goal attempt that cost the Steelers a touchdown. He tried to rush over the long snapper. Overall, Jalen Hurts had way too much time to survey the field, as there was little push from the interior of the line.

Brian Batko

Steelers brought the fight in Philadelphia with memories of 2 years ago top of mind

Grade: D

Linebackers

T.J. Watt was spectacular before he was injured late in the game. He had seven tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble. Alex Highsmith also played well, finishing with eight tackles and a sack. Things didn’t go quite as well for the inside linebackers. Patrick Queen led the Steelers with 11 tackles, but his whiff on Kenneth Gainwell late in the fourth quarter led to a touchdown. Rookie Payton Wilson had six tackles and played the best of any of the inside backers.

Grade: C-

Secondary

The Steelers had to know the Eagles were going to target A.J. Brown early given all the turmoil in Philadelphia last week between him and Hurts. And yet they seemed woefully unprepared to defend him. Brown had 110 receiving yards and a touchdown. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had a chance to intercept a Hurts pass early in the second quarter, but he dropped it. The Eagles kept the drive alive and scored a touchdown. The big play on the drive was a 16-yard pass to Gainwell, who was left uncovered. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Elandon Roberts indicated there was a miscommunication on the play. There have been far too many of those for the Steelers defense this season. It’s one thing to get beat, but it’s another to leave players wide open because the defense can’t get lined up right. On the final play of the third quarter, Porter had a chance to tackle Gainwell short of a first down, but he whiffed. Gainwell ran to the 2-yard line, and the Eagles scored a touchdown two plays later. Before he was injured, Donte Jackson might have been the worst player on the field. His tackling was atrocious and led to some big yards after the catch. The Steelers sorely missed DeShon Elliott’s tackling ability in this game.

Grade: F

Special teams

Mark Robinson forced a Cooper DeJean fumble on a punt return, and Nick Herbig recovered. It could have been a big play in the game, but the offense could not convert the turnover into a touchdown and had to settle for a field goal instead. Chris Boswell kicked two more field goals, but punter Corliss Waitman was inconsistent. One of his short punts led to a DeJean 23-yard return.

Grade: B

Coaching

Mike Tomlin butchered the end of the first half with some of the worst clock management you’ll ever see. Watt sacked Hurts with 1:55 left in the second quarter, and Tomlin did not call a timeout until 1:29 remained. The Steelers had a real opportunity to tie the score before halftime but had to settle for a field goal because Tomlin blew it. It’s not like this is the first time Tomlin has struggled with his clock management, and yet the Steelers don’t assign a coach to help him. The offensive play calling by Arthur Smith was unimaginative from the jump. The Steelers gained 2 yards on 10 plays in the first quarter. Smith called running plays on first down on three of the four first downs in the first quarter. Conversely, the Eagles, who lead the NFL in rushing, came out and threw the ball on their first three offensive plays. The Steelers obviously don’t have a lot of playmakers when Pickens is out of the lineup, but that’s where a coordinator makes his money. He has to scheme his players open — and he failed miserably in that regard.

Grade: F

First Published: December 16, 2024, 10:52 a.m.
Updated: December 16, 2024, 11:53 p.m.