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Trump Administration Proposes Rule on Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Timing After Ingredient Changes
@statnews reported that the Trump administration on June 12, 2026, proposed a policy change to stop drugmakers from avoiding Medicare price negotiation by adding active ingredients to existing drugs. The measure is part of the annual rule that sets the process for selecting the next 20 drugs and biologics.
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The Trump administration on June 12, 2026, proposed a policy change to prevent drugmakers from avoiding Medicare price negotiation by adding active ingredients to drugs. The proposal is included in the annual proposed rule that establishes the process the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses to select the next 20 drugs and biologics for price negotiation.
Those selections will be announced by February 1, 2027, and the negotiated prices will take effect in 2029.
Medicare must wait seven to 11 years after a product is approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it can negotiate its price. Biologics that are typically administered in doctor offices receive more time before Medicare can negotiate their price than drugs taken orally. The administration considered a similar policy last year but postponed a decision to study it further.
The administration says its proposal maintains program integrity. Drugmakers say the change would discourage them from improving drugs.
