CMS will implement lower maximum fair prices for 15 prescription drugs beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The drugs — which include treatments for cancer, Type 2 diabetes, asthma and chronic kidney disease — accounted for $42.5 billion, or 15%, of gross covered prescription drug costs under Medicare Part D from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2024, according to a Nov. 25 news release from CMS. Roughly 5.3 million beneficiaries used the medications during that period. The newly negotiated prices are expected to save Medicare $12 billion.
CMS gained authority to negotiate drug prices through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, ending a longstanding prohibition on direct Medicare price negotiations. The agency finalized the first 10 drugs for price reductions in 2026 and selected 15 more for 2027. Drugs in the latest cycle include Ozempic, Wegovy, Ibrance, Xtandi and Vraylar.
Medications selected must be at least 10 years old and lack generic or biosimilar competition. Beginning in 2028, CMS will expand negotiations to include certain physician-administered Part B drugs.
The 15 drugs selected for 2027:
Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy (Novo Nordisk)
Indication: Type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management
List price in 2024: $959
Negotiated price for 2027: $274
Trelegy Ellipta (GSK)
Indication: COPD, asthma
List price in 2024: $654
Negotiated price for 2027: $175
Xtandi (Astellas Pharma US)
Indication: Prostate cancer
List price in 2024: $13,480
Negotiated price for 2027: $7,004
Pomalyst (Bristol-Myers Squibb)
Indication: Multiple myeloma, Kaposi sarcoma
List price in 2024: $21,744
Negotiated price for 2027: $8,650
Ibrance (Pfizer)
Indication: HR+/HER2- breast cancer
List price in 2024: $15,741
Negotiated price for 2027: $7,871
Ofev (Boehringer Ingelheim)
Indication: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
List price in 2024: $12,622
Negotiated price for 2027: $6,350
Linzess (AbbVie)
Indication: IBS with constipation, chronic idiopathic constipation
List price in 2024: $539
Negotiated price for 2027: $136
Calquence (AstraZeneca)
Indication: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma
List price in 2024: $14,228
Negotiated price for 2027: $8,600
Austedo, Austedo XR (Teva)
Indication: Huntington’s disease chorea, tardive dyskinesia
List price in 2024: $6,623
Negotiated price for 2027: $4,093
Breo Ellipta (GSK)
Indication: COPD, asthma
List price in 2024: $397
Negotiated price for 2027: $67
Tradjenta (Boehringer Ingelheim)
Indication: Type 2 diabetes
List price in 2024: $488
Negotiated price for 2027: $78
Xifaxan (Salix Pharmaceuticals)
Indication: IBS with diarrhea, hepatic encephalopathy
List price in 2024: $2,696
Negotiated price for 2027: $1,000
Vraylar (AbbVie)
Indication: Schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder, major depressive disorder
List price in 2024: $1,376
Negotiated price for 2027: $770
Janumet, Janumet XR (Merck)
Indication: Type 2 diabetes
List price in 2024: $526
Negotiated price for 2027: $80
Otezla, Otezla XR (Amgen)
Indication: Psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, Behcet’s disease
List price in 2024: $4,722
Negotiated price for 2027: $1,650
