What it means for you
Since Jan. 1, 2026, Medicare pays prices it negotiated with drugmakers for 10 costly drugs, including Eliquis, Jardiance and Xarelto. CMS estimates enrollees will save $1.5 billion out of pocket in 2026.
Who benefits: People with Medicare drug coverage who take these drugs, about 8.8 million of the 54 million Part D enrollees in 2023, according to CMS.
For years, Medicare was barred from bargaining over the prices of the drugs it covers. The Inflation Reduction Act changed that. Medicare now picks some of the costliest drugs that have gone years without generic competition and negotiates a lower price with the maker.
The first 10 negotiated prices took effect on January 1, 2026. They treat conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and cancer: Eliquis, Enbrel, Entresto, Farxiga, Imbruvica, Januvia, Jardiance, NovoLog and Fiasp, Stelara, and Xarelto. If you take one of them through a Medicare drug plan, you don’t need to do anything. The lower price is built into what your plan pays, and CMS expects it to cut what enrollees pay at the pharmacy by about $1.5 billion this year.
The program keeps growing. In November 2025, the Trump administration announced negotiated prices for 15 more drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, which take effect in 2027. A third round, the first to include drugs given in a doctor’s office, finished negotiations on November 1, 2026. CMS must publish any agreed prices by November 30, and they take effect in 2028.
Democrats fought for this for years. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Peter Welch carried bills to let Medicare negotiate, and Rep. Frank Pallone’s H.R. 3 passed the House with it in 2019. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin negotiated the final law, which passed without Republican votes after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50–50 Senate tie. President Joe Biden signed it in August 2022.
Health careLower costsSeniors
Sources
- Selected drugs and negotiated pricesCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program: Negotiated Prices for Initial Price Applicability Year 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- FAQs about the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare Drug Price Negotiation ProgramKFF, March 11, 2026
- Supreme Court rejects appeals from drug manufacturers over Medicare price negotiationsPBS News, May 18, 2026
- Klobuchar statement on Senate passage of Inflation Reduction ActOffice of Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Klobuchar, Welch introduce legislation to cut prescription drug costs for seniorsOffice of Sen. Amy Klobuchar
- Pallone praises House passage of Lower Drug Costs Now ActHouse Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats
- Joint Statement From Leader Schumer and Senator Manchin Announcing AgreementSenate Democratic Caucus, July 27, 2022
How we checked this
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) on November 11, 2026. Checked against its sources by GPT-5.6-sol (OpenAI) on November 11, 2026, which corrected it. Confirmed the benefit, CMS figures, enactment details, credits, House vote, and current program status. Corrected the Senate vote total and updated the third-round timeline and status through November 11, 2026.
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