For about two decades, federal law did something strange: it forbade Medicare, the largest drug buyer in the country, from negotiating the price of the drugs it bought. [1] That ended. On January 1, 2026, the first prices Medicare actually negotiated took effect, and for ten of the most common and most expensive medicines, the number at the pharmacy counter went down. [1][2]
What changed, in dollars
The cuts are not small. Across the ten drugs, the negotiated prices run from 38 to 79 percent below their 2023 list prices. [3] A 30-day supply of Januvia, for diabetes, fell from a $527 list price to $113, a 79 percent cut. [3] Eliquis, a blood thinner millions of older Americans take to prevent strokes, dropped from $521 to $231. [3] Jardiance, for diabetes and heart failure, went from $573 to $197. [3] Enbrel, for rheumatoid arthritis, fell from $7,106 to $2,355 for a month's supply. [3]
Data
| Januvia (diabetes) | 79% |
|---|---|
| Jardiance (diabetes) | 66% |
| Enbrel (arthritis) | 66% |
| Eliquis (blood thinner) | 56% |
Who feels it
These are not boutique drugs. They are the medicines on millions of kitchen counters, the ones people ration, split, or skip when the copay lands wrong. CMS estimates the negotiated prices will save people on Medicare drug plans about $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026, on top of roughly $6 billion the program would have saved the system had the prices been in place in 2023. [1] For the person standing at the counter, the number that matters is smaller and more personal: the difference between filling the prescription and leaving it on the shelf.
What it does not fix yet
Be clear about the size of this. Ten drugs is a start, not a cure. The list grows in later years, but most prescriptions are not on it, and people without Medicare do not see these prices at all. [1] The honest way to hold a win like this is the way we hold any good policy: name what it proved, that the government can in fact negotiate and prices will fall, and use that proof to argue for finishing the job. The counter got a little lighter on January 1. The work is to keep it moving.
