CMS Seeks Feedback on Medicare $2 Drug List Model, Sample $2 Drug List, and Outreach

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

[Last week], the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), released a Request for Information (RFI) and a sample list of prescription drugs that the agency preliminarily intends to include under the proposed Medicare $2 Drug List Model, which was developed in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order 14087, “Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans."

Under the model, people enrolled in a participating Medicare prescription drug coverage (Part D) plan would have access to these drugs for a low, fixed copayment of no more than $2 for a month’s supply per drug. The model would provide individuals more certainty about the out-of-pocket costs for these generic covered Part D drugs that treat common medical conditions. CMS issued this RFI to support continued development of the model.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s (Innovation Center's) Medicare $2 Drug List Model aims to test whether a simplified approach to offering low-cost, clinically important generic drugs can:

  • Improve medication adherence,
  • Lead to better health outcomes, and
  • Improve satisfaction with the Part D prescription drug benefit among people with Medicare and prescribers.

Participation in the model would be voluntary for Part D sponsors and, pending further development, could start as early as January 2027.

Details on the Medicare $2 Drug List Request for Information can be found at Medicare $2 Drug List webpage. Additional details on the Medicare $2 Drug List Model were also  released in October 2023 in the “CMS Innovation Center’s One-Year Update on the Executive Order to Lower Prescription Drug Costs for Americans” blog post.

Information on how to submit comments can be found on https://surveys.cms.gov/jfe/form/SV_40iDHQWMNuVfyGq. Comments must be submitted by December 9, 2024, and will only be accepted through the link above.