Negotiated Medicare prices take effect for the first 10 drugs
Medicare's first negotiated drug prices began January 1, 2026, but semaglutide products like Ozempic and Wegovy won't get their negotiated price until January 1, 2027, so Medicare patients on those drugs see no change yet.
Negotiated Medicare prices for the first group of 10 Part D drugs took effect on January 1, 2026, under the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program [1]. Semaglutide products were not part of this first round. Ozempic and Wegovy, both brand names for semaglutide, are in the second round of negotiated drugs, with prices scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027 [1].
The first round covered drugs including Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and Fiasp/NovoLog [1]. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimated Medicare would have saved $6 billion if these negotiated prices had applied in 2023, a net savings of 22% compared with prices Part D plans were already paying [1]. CMS also estimated beneficiaries will save $1.5 billion in 2026 once the new prices are in place [1].
The second round, which includes semaglutide, covers 15 Part D drugs. CMS estimated $12 billion in savings for Medicare relative to 2024 net prices, a 44% reduction, and projected $685 million in savings for beneficiaries when these prices take effect in 2027 [1]. The larger savings estimate for round two is due in part to more drugs being subject to negotiation [1].
A third round of negotiations was announced in January 2026, covering 15 more drugs for prices that take effect in 2028. This list includes Trulicity, a GLP-1 drug for type 2 diabetes made by Eli Lilly, with 617,000 Medicare users and $4.9 billion in Part B and Part D spending during the year studied [1]. The 2028 round is also the first time CMS is required to negotiate physician-administered drugs covered under Medicare Part B [1]. Across all three rounds, the 40 drugs selected so far accounted for 36% of total Medicare drug spending in 2024, or $125 billion out of $350 billion [1].
Why it matters for patients
Medicare patients currently taking Ozempic or Wegovy through Part D will not see a change in negotiated pricing until January 1, 2027 [1]. The sources do not say what the actual out-of-pocket cost will be for beneficiaries once the negotiated price takes effect, since that depends on each Part D plan's benefit design, cost-sharing structure, and any rebates plans already negotiate on their own [1]. CMS's savings estimates are calculated relative to net prices that plans were already paying, not necessarily the list price patients see at the pharmacy counter [1].
Patients using other GLP-1 drugs should also note that Trulicity, a diabetes treatment in the same drug class as semaglutide, is now part of the 2028 negotiation round, though its negotiated price will not take effect for two more years [1]. Tirzepatide products, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound, and orforglipron, sold as Foundayo, are not mentioned in these sources as being part of any negotiation round to date.
What happens next
Negotiated prices for the second round of 15 drugs, including semaglutide, are set to take effect on January 1, 2027 [1]. CMS announced the third round of 15 selected drugs, including Trulicity, in January 2026, with those negotiated prices scheduled to take effect January 1, 2028 [1]. Under the law, up to 20 additional drugs will be selected for negotiation each year starting in 2027, meaning the list of drugs with negotiated Medicare prices will keep growing over time [1].
Sources
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