This could suppress the price of drugs. Good for patients, bad for drug companies and pharmaceutical distributors.
CMS finalizes model that aims to bring most-favored nation pricing to Part B
By Paige Minemyer , Fierce Healthcare, Sep 30, 2026
The Trump administration has finalized a new model that aims to bring its most-favored nation pricing approach to Medicare Part B.
Called the Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing, or GLOBE, Model, the program will begin on Jan. 1 and run through March 31, 2032. The model deploys an alternative approach to calculating drug inflation rebates in Part B, which covers therapies administered in healthcare settings, per an announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Under GLOBE, regulators would use international pricing information to set a benchmark that reflects the cost of a therapy in economically similar countries. The administration has put a spotlight on most-favored nation pricing agreements to drive down drug costs, as a slew of medications are far more expensive in the U.S. than they are internationally…
CMS said that model participants will include beneficiaries in a randomly selected subset of geographic regions, with participation encompassing about 25% of people enrolled in traditional Medicare… [end quote]
Because Part B covers medications given in healthcare settings (such as physician offices, hospital outpatient departments, and infusion centers), many high-cost oncology drugs are billed through this part of Medicare.
The model explicitly excludes certain types of specialized therapies—such as orphan drugs, plasma-derived products, certain cell and gene therapies, and biosimilars once a biosimilar hits the market.
Whether it ever becomes universal depends on the results of the pilot—specifically whether the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) finds that it successfully lowers costs and maintains or improves care quality, which is the statutory requirement for expanding an innovation model nationwide.
Medicare is trying various experiments (“models”) to try to reduce costs. The drug price reduction model is different than the so-called “WISeR” model which is the prior authorization and AI-assisted review pilot that has drawn scrutiny from Washington hospitals and lawmakers over care delays.
Medicare spending is gigantic. But it’s a zero-sum situation where savings for Medicare equals lower revenues or health care.
Wendy