CMS announces first 10 drugs to undergo price negotiations under Medicare

The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a list of the first 10 medications that will be eligible for price negotiations under Medicare. This roster includes prominent drugs like Eliquis, Jardiance, and Xarelto.

It is the first time that the law provides Medicare the ability to directly negotiate the prices of certain high expenditure, single source drugs without generic or biosimilar competition. Under provisions contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, manufacturers of the drugs on the initial list must submit to Medicare by October 2 specific data on their product’s R&D costs, among other information. The maximum fair prices resulting from negotiations for these medications will be made public by September 2024, with the new prices taking effect from the beginning of 2026.

The list of drugs selected for negotiation is based on total gross covered prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D and other criteria listed in The Inflation Reduction Act.

The complete list of drugs encompasses:

1. Eliquis (Bristol Myers Squibb) – Used for preventing and treating blood clots.
2. Jardiance (Boehringer Ingelheim/Eli Lilly) – Prescribed for diabetes and heart failure.
3. Xarelto (Bayer/Johnson & Johnson) – Employed for preventing and treating blood clots, as well as reducing risks for patients with coronary or peripheral artery disease.
4. Januvia (Merck & Co.) – Utilized for treating diabetes.
5. Farxiga (AstraZeneca) – Prescribed for diabetes, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease.
6. Entresto (Novartis) – Primarily used for heart failure.
7. Enbrel (Amgen) – Employed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis.
8. Imbruvica (AbbVie/Johnson & Johnson) – Used for treating blood cancers.
9. Stelara (Johnson & Johnson) – Prescribed for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
10. Fiasp; Fiasp FlexTouch; Fiasp PenFill; NovoLog; NovoLog FlexPen; NovoLog PenFill (Novo Nordisk) – Medications for diabetes.

Source:

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program: Selected Drugs for Initial Price Applicability Year 2026. Available at https://www.cms.gov/files/document/fact-sheet-medicare-selected-drug-negotiation-list-ipay-2026.pdf