Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER XI— - GENERAL PROVISIONS, PEER REVIEW, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION › Part Part E— - Price Negotiation Program To Lower Prices for Certain High-Priced Single Source Drugs › § 1320f–1
The Secretary must each year pick and publish a list of high‑cost drugs for Medicare price negotiations. For 2026 the Secretary must pick 10 drugs from the top Part D spenders. For 2027 the Secretary must pick 15 from the top Part D spenders. For 2028 the Secretary must pick 15 from the top spenders in Part D or Part B. For 2029 and later years the Secretary must pick 20 from the top spenders in Part D or Part B. The picks are made by ranking eligible single‑source brand drugs and biologics by total Medicare spending during the most recent 12 months of data (ending no later than October 31 before the publication year). “Qualifying single‑source drugs” means brand drugs or biologics that are marketed and past their exclusivity (generally at least 7 years for drugs and 11 years for biologics). The law excludes drugs already selected, certain very low‑spend products, drugs tied to blood or plasma, and some other narrow categories. Each drug the Secretary includes becomes a “selected drug” for that year and stays selected until after a generic or biosimilar is approved and actually sold (the law times this so the change starts in the first year that begins at least 9 months after that approval and marketing). For some biologics, the Secretary can delay adding them for up to 2 years if there is strong evidence a biosimilar will be licensed and marketed soon and the biosimilar’s maker asks and supplies proof. If a delay was allowed but the biosimilar does not launch, the biologic’s maker must pay a rebate. The rebate rules use fixed percentages of the amount the product’s price exceeded the negotiated maximum and are paid into the Medicare trust funds.
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The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
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Reference
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 1320f–1
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73