STATEMENT: CMS Announces 15 Drugs Selected for Round 3 of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

Drugs included in Round 3 are used by nearly 1.8 million people on Medicare and accounted for $27 billion in Medicare spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the list of the next 15 high-priced medications selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiation, along with one drug selected for renegotiation.

Between November 2024 and October 2025, nearly 1.8 million people with Medicare Part B and/or Part D coverage relied on these drugs to treat serious and chronic conditions, including cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, asthma, and HIV. During that same period, the selected drugs accounted for approximately $27 billion in total Medicare Part B and Part D spending — about 6% of all prescription drug expenditures.

Merith Basey, CEO, Patients For Affordable Drugs, issued the following statement:

“For twenty years, drug corporations looted Medicare, exploiting a ban on negotiation to drive up costs for patients and taxpayers. The 2022 prescription drug law finally gave Medicare the authority to negotiate lower prices, and patients are finally starting to feel the impact. After two successful rounds, today’s announcement of the additional 15 high-cost and commonly prescribed drugs shows that this program is not only being successfully implemented but is also effective in lowering prices. As negotiations continue, millions more people on Medicare stand to benefit.

“Patients For Affordable Drugs is committed to strengthening and expanding this wildly popular program to include more drugs and go beyond people on Medicare. Patients fought hard to win these reforms, and they continue defending them against pharma’s attacks – because nobody should have to choose between life-saving drugs and their basic needs.”

The 15 drugs included for round three of negotiations are: Anoro Ellipta, Biktarvy, Botox and Botox Cosmetic, Cimzia, Cosentyx, Entyvio, Erleada, Kisqali, Lenvima, Orencia, Rexulti, Trulicity, Verzenio, Xeljanz and Xeljanz XR, and Xolair. Negotiated prices are crucial to bringing meaningful relief to patients all across the country, including:

Diane, from Mesa, Arizona, lives with rheumatoid arthritis and relies on Xeljanz to manage her condition. Her copay is $1,353 after insurance – nearly her entire monthly disability check. There are no generic versions of Xeljanz, and it’s the only medication that has worked for her since her diagnosis in 1997.
Dana, a retired data analyst from New York, living with HIV, depends on Biktarvy to stay alive. Even with Medicare, it costs her more than $4,000 each year out of pocket.
Susan, from Morrison, Colorado, is caring for her wife, who is fighting cancer for the fifth time. Her wife’s treatment includes Verzenio, which costs the family roughly $3,000 every 28 days, creating an enormous and ongoing financial burden.
Debbie, from Port Lavaca, Texas, takes Xolair to manage her asthma, but its high cost means she can’t afford her Medicare deductible for other allergy medications and essential medical supplies.

CMS also announced that Tradjenta would be subject to renegotiation. Tradjenta was previously included in the second round of negotiations and saw an 84% decrease in price, which would be implemented starting January 2027. Under the law, CMS may select a previously negotiated drug for renegotiation when changes such as market conditions, indications, or other material factors are likely to significantly affect spending or the maximum fair price.

Negotiated prices for the first round of 10 drugs went into effect in January of this year, marking a historic milestone for patients, after decades of being blocked from the bargaining table, and the second round of negotiated prices was announced in November. CMS’s latest announcement builds on that progress — even as the pharmaceutical industry continues to resist the program through ongoing legal challenges, including efforts to push their lawsuits toward the Supreme Court.

Several of the drugs selected for Round 3 have also been subject to recent price hikes, including Cimzia, which increased by $899, Entyvio, which increased by $748, and Xeljanz, which increased by $334, further underscoring the urgency of allowing Medicare to negotiate fairer prices.

Medicare Negotiation By The Numbers

The 2022 prescription drug law requires negotiation for up to 60 drugs by 2029, which is historic, given that, for more than two decades, Medicare was barred from negotiating.
$99 billion: Taxpayer savings specifically from Medicare negotiation through 2031.
$18 billion: Estimated combined Medicare savings if lower negotiated prices on rounds one and two had been in effect in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
$2.2 billion annually: Estimated combined out-of-pocket savings for people on Medicare Part D on first and second round drugs starting in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
656,967 fewer deaths: Projected over seven years due to improved treatment adherence, with nearly 94,000 lives saved annually from reduced out-of-pocket costs from Medicare negotiation.
$237 billion: Projected total taxpayer savings from the 2022 prescription drug law through 2031.

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Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only national, patient advocacy organization focused exclusively on policies to lower drug prices. We empower and mobilize patients and allies, hold accountable those in power, and fight to shape and achieve system-changing policies that make prescription drugs affordable for all people in the United States. P4AD is bipartisan and does not accept funding from organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. To learn more, visit: PatientsForAffordableDrugs.org