Medicare officials announced on Nov. 25 the negotiated prices for 15 of the program’s most expensive drugs, anticipating a 36 percent decrease in costs that could shave $8.5 billion annually in net prescription expenses beginning in 2027.
Annual price negotiations, started under the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to bargain directly with pharmaceutical companies, which had been prohibited under the law.
This year’s reductions include Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide—marketed as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss—which drops to $274 monthly. That’s lower than the recent net price of $428 per month for Ozempic, according to a “Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy” analysis, and much less expensive than the $959 list price before rebates….