The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will publish the 10 Medicare Part D drugs selected for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program on September 1.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced key dates for implementation of drug pricing provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act on Wednesday morning.
On September 1, 2024, CMS will announce the negotiated maximum fair prices for these drugs, with the prices being put into effect starting January 1, 2026.
Subsequently, CMS will select 15 more Part D drugs for negotiation for 2027, another 15 Part D or Part B drugs for 2028 as well as 20 more Part B or Part D drugs for each year after that.
“Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, we finally have the authority to get American families the lower prescription drug costs they deserve,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “Today we are releasing our plan for how we will implement Medicare drug price negotiation under this landmark law — and we will be transparent and aggressive in implementation every step of the way.”
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August, marks one of the most significant pieces of bipartisan drug pricing legislation enacted in decades and could result in major changes to how much patients pay for prescription drugs in years to come.
As part of the $740 billion bill, the federal government will have the ability to negotiate Medicare prices for certain expensive drugs and caps out-of-pocket prescription drug prices at $2,000 for Medicare beneficiaries starting in 2025. Additionally, drugmakers are required to pay rebates to Medicare if they raise their list prices for drugs faster than inflation.
While the Inflation Reduction Act only applies to the prices of a certain group of prescription drugs, the bill’s passage was nevertheless considered a major defeat for PhRMA and the pharmaceutical industry. Notably, AbbVie left Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), two influential healthcare trade organizations, at the end of last year.
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said the agency would engage the public throughout the process and released a memo outlining additional details regarding the implementation of the law for interested stakeholders.
