Medicare Names 15 More Drugs for Price Negotiation, With New Prices Due in 2027

Medicare has added 15 more drugs to its price-negotiation list, and the savings from the first round are already showing up at the pharmacy counter for millions of seniors.

What You Should Know

HHS, through CMS, selected 15 additional Medicare Part D drugs for the next round of price negotiations, including Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy, Trelegy Ellipta, Xtandi, Ibrance, Calquence and Otezla, according to a CMS announcement. About 5.3 million people with Part D coverage used these drugs between November 2023 and October 2024, accounting for roughly $41 billion in gross covered drug costs, or about 14 percent of total Part D spending, CMS said. Negotiated prices for this group take effect in 2027.

The Pressure Point

This follows the first round of negotiated prices, which took effect January 1, 2026 on 10 drugs including Eliquis, Enbrel, Entresto, Farxiga, Xarelto and Januvia. Those prices are 38 percent to 79 percent lower than list prices, CMS said. A 30-day supply of Eliquis fell from $521 to $231, a 56 percent cut, while a 30-day supply of Januvia dropped from $527 to $113, a 79 percent cut, according to AARP.

The Receipts

CMS projects the first-round discounts will save Part D enrollees an aggregated $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026. Had the negotiated prices been in effect in 2023, CMS said, they would have saved an estimated $6 billion across the 10 drugs that year. Medicare spent nearly $18.3 billion on Eliquis alone for almost 4 million beneficiaries in 2023, per AARP.

The negotiated price is updated annually for as long as a drug stays in the program, and all Medicare Advantage and standalone Part D plans must include the negotiated drugs, AARP reported.

What Happens Next

Negotiations for the 15 newly selected drugs run through 2026, ahead of the 2027 effective date, according to CMS. CMS announced a third round, the first to include drugs covered under Part B, on January 27, 2026, with those prices set to take effect January 1, 2028. For now, seniors on the first 10 drugs should see the lower prices applied automatically, with no separate enrollment step.

References: CMS | AARP