SMART Prices Act

The SMART Prices Act changes how Medicare negotiates drug prices. It repeals a rule blocking Medicare from negotiating with drugmakers and accelerates the process, requiring negotiations for 40 drugs starting in 2027 (up from 10 annually). It shortens the time drugs must be single-source to qualify for negotiation (from 7 to 3 years) and adjusts price negotiation formulas, setting new caps like 76% of the drug's average price for some medications. This directly affects Medicare beneficiaries (by lowering their out-of-pocket costs) and pharmaceutical companies (by requiring price negotiations for more drugs faster).