The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced updated rules for the second round of drug price negotiations under the Medicare program. These changes will give drugmakers more time for negotiations and additional opportunities to submit counteroffers. These adjustments result from feedback received from patients and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
CMS, which administers the government health insurance program for people aged 65 and older as well as people with disabilities, has set a Feb. 1 deadline to select the most expensive prescription drugs for contract negotiations. price. The new negotiated prices will be implemented in 2027.
Pharmaceutical companies that produce the 15 most expensive drugs closely follow these guidelines because their products are likely to be chosen for negotiations. The updated process will now include meetings with drug manufacturers before CMS makes its initial price offer. Additionally, one of the three mandatory negotiation meetings will take place before the first counteroffer deadline. If a company decides to make a counter-offer to the government’s proposal, it will have two additional meetings to negotiate.
A CMS official stressed the importance of these changes, saying: “What we plan to do is have meetings with manufacturers before CMS actually makes an initial offer. But once we have made an initial offer, we will have an optional first negotiation meeting with the manufacturer sooner than we did last year.” The official explained that this would allow for better dialogue on the initial offer and the manufacturer’s first thoughts on a counter-offer.
To provide context, the CMS has already set prices for ten drugs in August after a year of discussions. These prices are scheduled to take effect in January 2026 and, according to CMS, are expected to save older Americans $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs. Negotiations for next year’s drug prices are expected to take place over a shorter period, with a final decision on prices expected by November 30, 2025.
Reuters contributed to this article.
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