Welcome to the Pharmacy and Dispensing Entity Resources page for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. Pharmacies and other dispensing entities can find the information on this page necessary to prepare for the January 1, 2026 implementation of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, the date the negotiated prices, or maximum fair prices (MFPs), for the first ten drugs selected for negotiation covered by Part D go into effect.
Through the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, CMS is able to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers to increase beneficiary access to some of the costliest single-source brand-name drugs covered under Medicare Part B and Part D. To facilitate the effectuation of the MFPs that are agreed upon by CMS and applicable drug manufacturers for drugs selected for negotiation, CMS is establishing a Medicare Transaction Facilitator (MTF). The MTF will play a central role in implementing the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program by providing the operational infrastructure to facilitate MFP effectuation.
On this resource page, CMS will share key information that pharmacies and other dispensing entities will need to be ready for January 1, 2026, including processes, timelines, and assistance for enrolling in the MTF beginning in Spring, 2025.
Timeline
Items Open for Public Review
The Draft Medicare Transaction Facilitator Agreements, outline the responsibilities of each party that will be engaged in the MTF and will be necessary for enrollment in the MTF. The draft Agreements are available for public feedback. Pharmacies will sign an agreement with CMS and a separate agreement with the MTF Data Module Contractor. Feedback on the draft agreements is due by January 31, 2025 and can be submitted to IRARebateandNegotiation@cms.hhs.gov with subject line “MTF Agreements Feedback.” CMS anticipates finalizing these draft agreements based on public feedback as well as input from the MTF contractors involved in the development and operations of the MTF system; we anticipate issuing the final MTF Agreements in Spring 2025.
The draft agreements can be found here.
- The Medicare Transaction Facilitator for 2026 and 2027 initial Information Collection Request (ICR) can be found in the Federal Register. The full text of the ICR can also be found at CMS' PRA website. The ICR describes the information that CMS proposes to collect from pharmacies and other dispensers (and manufacturers) to operate the MTF, a key facet in administering the Negotiation Program and facilitating MFP effectuation. The ICR is open for public input for 60 days. Comments are due by December 27, 2024, and can be submitted at this comment submission link.
Key Resources
- The Pharmacy and Dispensing Entities Resources Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions document details key information for pharmacies and other dispensing entities that will engage with the new MTF system, a core component of implementing the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
- For more information about the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program broadly, including the manufacturers of the drugs selected for negotiations, the timeline for the implementation, program guidance, Information Collection Requests, and other relevant program information is available here.
Have a question, input, or feedback? Email us at IRARebateandNegotiation@cms.hhs.gov