List prices for 10 of the nation’s most expensive drugs will drop to their CMS-negotiated price Jan. 1. House lawmakers introduced a bill Nov. 20 to expand these annual negotiations to 50 medications.
Under current law, CMS can negotiate with manufacturers selling medicines with no generic or biosimilar competition. In the first cycle, the Inflation Reduction Act stipulates CMS could select 10 medications for 2026, with eligibility growing to 20 by 2029.
With “The Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act,” Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Bobby Scott, D-Va., said they want to expand CMS’ authority to lower drug prices.
The proposed legislation aims to extend the negotiation program to private insurers, as the program solely covers Medicare. The bill also seeks to reverse a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that exempts medications approved for “one or more rare diseases or conditions” from the negotiations.
CMS officials are expected to announce the negotiated drug prices for the second cycle, starting 2027, in coming days.
