Medicare drug price negotiations: 10 things to know

CMS will share its first round of negotiated Medicare drug costs by Sept. 1, though two drugmakers are still fighting the negotiations. 

Here are 10 things to know about the upcoming announcement:

1. The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law in August 2022, giving Medicare the authority to negotiate with drug companies over the price of certain drugs. 
   
   
2. On Aug. 29, CMS announced the list of 10 Medicare Part D drugs that were selected for price negotiations.
   
   
3. Drugs on the list treat heart conditions, blood clots, leukemia/lymphoma, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
   
   
4. The 10 drugs are: Eliquis, Enbrel, Farxiga, Fiasp/NovoLog, Entresto, Imbruvica, Januvia, Jardiance, Stelara and Xarelto.
   
   
5. The drugmakers involved in negotiations are: Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Pharmacyclics (AbbVie), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly. 
   
   
6. Lawsuits brought by Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson have attempted to stop the negotiations but were rejected by federal judges, according to CNN.
   
   
7. Similar lawsuits brought by Merck and Novartis are awaiting decisions from the courts, according to CNBC.
   
   
8. The selected drugs contributed more than $50 billion in gross Medicare costs between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, according to CMS. 
   
   
9. Approximately 8,247,000 people with Medicare Part D coverage used the selected drugs during that period.
   
   
10. Though the drug prices will be announced by Sept. 1, the prices will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2026.