The Biden administration, in its last full weekday in office, has announced the next 15 drugs up for Medicare price negotiation. Blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic is on the list.

That means the federal government and the pharmaceuticals industry are about to go head-to-head once again. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services negotiated prices for a first batch of drugs last year — something it could only do because of the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in 2022.

“Once again, we have a chance to negotiate a better deal for the American people,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “We believe that we can be successful once again.”

The 15 new drugs combined with the 10 drugs in the first batch represent about a third of Medicare Part D spending on prescription drugs, Becerra said.

“It is important to remember that for some people, this is a big deal,” Becerra said. “Some folks have to cut the pills in half or skip a dose in their prescription so that they can make their prescription last longer until they can afford to buy the next batch of drugs.”

The White House announced the first batch of negotiated Medicare drug prices in August after negotiating for reduced prices for months. The 10 new lower prices — which ranged from a price cut of 79% for Type 2 diabetes drug Januvia to a 38% cut for cancer drug Imbruvica — will go into effect in January 2026.

Picking the drugs

The government can’t pick just any drugs in Medicare. There are certain rules laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act that say which drugs are eligible for price cuts.

They can’t be brand new, for instance, and can’t have competition from generic or biosimilar products.

The government had until Feb. 1 to announce the next batch of drugs. And it had to use data that ran through Jan. 15 in making its drug selections.

Friday’s announcement comes a few weeks before that deadline, but the administration has been early in meeting its deadlines in the past. It’s also possibly the last day the Biden administration can tout its work on lowering prescription drug prices.

Possible hurdles under Trump

There are some ways the incoming Trump administration could hinder drug price negotiation. It could repeal all or part of the Inflation Reduction Act — where Medicare gets this negotiating power.

That’s the plan, according to Project 2025, which was published by the conservative Heritage Foundation and authored by several people at one point in Trump’s orbit, including Roger Severino , who served as Director of HHS’s Office for Civil Rights from 2017 to 2021.

Until a Republican-controlled congress can repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, Project 2025 suggests implementing the existing law in a way that minimizes its effects.

However, since Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, it’s really not clear what will happen.

The pharmaceutical industry also has pending lawsuits challenging the law.

The next steps

The drug manufacturers have until the end of February to sign an agreement saying they’ll participate in this round of negotiations. Then they have some time to submit data on things such as research and development costs, sales, and revenue.

The government will give its opening bid on June 1, though it will remain secret. The negotiations will continue back and forth until Halloween, when the companies accept or reject the final offer from the government.

The negotiated costs will be made public about a month later, and then they’ll take effect in January of 2027.

Copyright 2025 NPR