CMS Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Round 3: 15 New Drugs Named, Field Implications

By FieldPulse Editorial · March 5, 2026

Tags: pricing, policy, medicare

CMS named 15 drugs for Round 3 Medicare price negotiation on March 5, including Jardiance, Farxiga, Xarelto, and Ocrevus. Negotiated prices take effect January 2028.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services named 15 additional drugs for the third round of Medicare price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act on March 5, 2026.

The list includes Jardiance (empagliflozin), Farxiga (dapagliflozin), Xarelto (rivaroxaban), and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) among others.

Negotiated prices for Round 3 drugs will take effect January 1, 2028.

The inclusion of multiple blockbuster drugs with large field forces creates significant commercial uncertainty for affected companies.

Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca, whose SGLT-2 inhibitors were both named, are expected to face pricing pressure that may lead to sales force rationalization ahead of 2028.

For field representatives selling any of the 15 named drugs, the immediate concern is understanding how negotiated pricing will affect managed care contracting and whether formulary positioning will shift in anticipation of lower list prices.

Some payers have already begun re-opening 2026 formulary contracts with named-drug manufacturers.

Roche's Ocrevus inclusion is notable given the drug's prominence in the MS specialist space.

Ocrevus reps have been briefed that the company will pursue a combination of indication-specific exclusions and REMS-related carve-outs to limit the negotiated price's impact on commercial revenue.

Industry analysts project that Round 3 will have a more pronounced commercial impact than Rounds 1 and 2, which focused on older drugs with smaller field forces.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/05/cms-medicare-negotiation-round-3-drugs-named