Key Facts About Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Authors: Juliette Cubanski and Tricia Neuman Published: Mar 11, 2026

https://www.kff.org/medicare/key-facts-about-medicare-drug-price-negotiation/?utm_campaign=KFF-This-Week&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8pwmysHyO51E-V47RVPDFGhddABE0MBlZBhf5b4Uh_6kRFnR49nK9yrxI5zJVz8cyzzP1mkQ4kGkM23wfjONexarWfVQ&_hsmi=408653873&utm_content=408653873&utm_source=hs_email Under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to negotiate prices with drug companies for certain high-cost drugs covered under Medicare. This requirement, a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), was the culmination of years of debate among lawmakers over whether to grant the federal government the authority to negotiate drug prices in Medicare.