News and Reports | January 1, 2026
Patients on Medicare begin seeing an average list price reduction of 63% percent on the first 10 blockbuster drugs starting January 1st
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today marks a historic milestone for prescription drug affordability in the United States. For the first time in Medicare’s history, lower negotiated prices for 10 of the most expensive and widely used prescription drugs are in effect as of January 1, 2026.
For decades, Medicare was barred from negotiating prescription drug prices by the 2003 “non-interference” clause — a last-minute provision quietly inserted into the law at the urging of pharmaceutical lobbyists. That backroom carve-out was unique to the drug industry. While Medicare would negotiate prices for virtually every other service and product it purchases, it would be prohibited from negotiating for prescription drugs. The result was a system rigged against patients and one that locked in unfettered monopoly pricing power for the pharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years.
That finally changed in 2022, when the Inflation Reduction Act established the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, granting the federal government the authority to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers for lower prices on up to 60 of the most expensive and most widely used medications covered by Medicare.
Merith Basey, CEO of Patients For Affordable Drugs, issued the following statement:
“Today is the day millions of patients fought for. The first lower negotiated prices are no longer a promise, they are reality. Medicare negotiation brings long-overdue accountability and finally puts a check on the monopoly power of pharmaceutical corporations that have been allowed to charge Americans 4 to 8 times more than patients in other high-income countries.”
“This is a historic step, but it cannot be the last. When 9 in 10 Americans want Congress to do more to lower prescription drug costs, the pharmaceutical industry continues to exploit loopholes, block competition, and fight reforms at every turn — including by attempting to block implementation of this program in the courts, all the way to a pending appeal before the Supreme Court. Medicare negotiation must be protected, strengthened, and expanded so affordable medicine becomes the rule, not the exception.”
“The Medicare provisions that are currently in effect and will commence on January 1, 2026, are a great step in the right direction that will help save millions of patients,” said Kaye Peterson from Kentucky. “However, we still have miles to go before we can sleep. Seeing the incredible price reductions on the first selected drugs goes to show that we need fair and equitable pricing on every drug on the market. I appreciate the legislative steps taken thus far, as we know good policies are always a marathon, not a sprint.” Today, the negotiated list price for Kaye’s drug Fiasp has been reduced to $119 a month — a 76% list price reduction.
“I am looking forward to the new negotiated price for Enbrel,” said Judy Aiken from Maine. “Even though the Medicare out-of-pocket cap is similar, it will take me a little longer to reach my cap, approximately within three months, versus one, which will be easier to plan for. The fact that the negotiated price for Enbrel is 67% less than before negotiation for a 30-day supply is testimony that Big Pharma can afford to lower its prices and could continue to do so.” Today, the negotiated list price for Enbrel has been reduced from $7,106 a month to $2,355. z
In 2023 alone, the 8.8 million patients on Medicare who used these first 10 drugs paid $3.9 billion in out-of-pocket costs, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Had the negotiated prices been in effect that year, people on Medicare would have saved an estimated $1.5 billion out-of-pocket. Now that the new prices are in effect for round one, taxpayers are expected to save $6 billion in 2026. Over the next decade, the program is projected to save taxpayers nearly $99 billion and prevent more than 656,967 premature deaths by improving treatment adherence and access. CMS will announce the next 15 drugs selected for negotiation for the third round on February 1, 2026.
This milestone was made possible by years of sustained advocacy from P4AD patent advocates across the country. By centering the voices of patients harmed by high drug prices and pushing back against unprecedented industry opposition, patients played a critical role in turning Medicare negotiation from a long-standing policy goal into enacted law.
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Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only national patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies that lower prescription drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients by amplifying their experiences with high drug prices to hold those in power to account and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4AD does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development and distribution of drugs. To learn more, visit PatientsForAffordableDrugs.org