All 15 drugmakers agree to join third Medicare drug price negotiation cycle

The companies that make all 15 drugs selected for the third round of Medicare drug price negotiations have agreed to take part, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on March 13, 2026 ^[1]. CMS also said the manufacturer of the one drug selected for renegotiation in this cycle continues to participate in the program ^[1].

CMS said the companies that manufacture "all 15 drugs payable under Medicare Part B and/or covered under Medicare Part D selected for the third cycle" chose to join the Negotiation Program ^[1]. Part B covers drugs given by a provider, while Part D covers prescription drugs people take at home. This round is tied to what the agency calls initial price applicability year 2028 ^[1].

Negotiations with the participating companies will occur in 2026, and any negotiated prices become effective beginning in 2028 ^[1]. Those prices are called maximum fair prices, or MFPs, in the law ^[1]. The names of the 15 selected drugs are not disclosed in the March 13 announcement; CMS points to a selected drug list, a fact sheet on the top 50 negotiation-eligible drugs, and a fact sheet on manufacturer participation ^[1].

Two earlier rounds set the pattern. In the first cycle, MFPs for 10 Part D drugs take effect January 1, 2026 ^[1]. In the second cycle, which covers 15 Part D drugs, MFPs take effect January 1, 2027 ^[1].

Among the second-cycle drugs are Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy — all semaglutide — and CMS has published a maximum fair price explanation for those products ^[1]. These explanations describe CMS's view of the data that had the greatest impact on its offers and its consideration of counteroffers, along with information about the negotiation meetings, with parts redacted to protect proprietary information ^[1]. The negotiated Medicare price for these semaglutide products therefore begins January 1, 2027 ^[1]. The dollar figures are not included in the March 13 announcement. CMS publishes a file listing the single negotiated price for a 30-day equivalent supply of each selected drug, along with per-unit and per-package prices ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Negotiated Medicare prices apply to Medicare, not to commercial insurance or cash purchases. CMS's file lists the National Drug Codes for which a negotiated maximum fair price would apply ^[1], so whether a specific package or dose carries that price depends on the code list. CMS updates the file as new codes are added or when a code should no longer have the negotiated price applied ^[1].

For Medicare enrollees who take semaglutide, the second-cycle timeline means a government-negotiated price for Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy starts on January 1, 2027 ^[1]. The amount has not been disclosed in this announcement; CMS's price file and fact sheets carry the figures ^[1]. What an individual pays at the pharmacy also depends on their plan and other coverage rules, which are not described in these materials.

The third cycle does not change prices until 2028 ^[1], and the drugs chosen for it have not been named. One limit on public information is worth noting: CMS redacts portions of its MFP explanations, so the full reasoning behind any negotiated price is not public ^[1].

What happens next

• MFPs from the first cycle, covering 10 Part D drugs, take effect January 1, 2026 ^[1].
• MFPs from the second cycle, covering 15 Part D drugs including the semaglutide products, take effect January 1, 2027 ^[1].
• Negotiations for the third cycle run during 2026, with any negotiated prices effective beginning in 2028 ^[1].

CMS publishes its selected drug list and negotiated price file in .xlsx and .csv formats, and updates the file at least annually after a drug's first price applicability year to show the inflation-adjusted negotiated price ^[1].