2027 Public Engagement Events

IRA negotiation

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program Public Engagement Events


CMS will host a series of public engagement events this spring as part of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The virtual public engagement events will provide an opportunity for patients, beneficiaries, caregivers, consumer and patient organizations, and other interested parties, such as clinicians and researchers, to share input relevant to drugs selected for the second cycle of negotiations. 

This spring, CMS will host one livestreamed town hall meeting for all selected drugs, focused on the clinical considerations related to the selected drugs and will host 15 private (i.e., not livestreamed or open to press or general public) patient-focused roundtable events, one for each selected drug, which will be open to patients, patient advocacy organizations, and caregivers selected to speak at the events, and will allow for discussion among speakers. All stakeholders are welcome to attend and participate in the town hall meeting. 

Accommodation for people with disabilities and language assistance (e.g., interpretation) may be available.


Public Engagement Event Dates: The roundtable events will be held April 16 – April 29, 2025, and the town hall will be held Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The deadline to register has been extended and will now be open until March 19, 2025. 

The public engagement events are subject to change, including postponement and/or cancellation. 

Roundtable Events

  •  Austedo; Austedo XR: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 10:00 – 11:30 AM ET
  • Breo Ellipta: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET
  • Calquence: Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 10:00 – 11:30 AM ET
  • Ibrance: Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET
  • Janumet; Janumet XR: Friday, April 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
  • Linzess: Monday, April 21, 2025 at 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET
  • Ofev: Tuesday, April 22 2025 at 10:00 – 11:30 AM ET
  • Otezla: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
  • Ozempic; Rybelsus; Wegovy: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET
  • Pomalyst: Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 10:00 – 11:30 AM ET
  • Tradjenta: Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET
  • Trelegy Ellipta: Friday, April 25, 2025 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
  • Vraylar: Monday, April 28, 2025 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
  • Xifaxan: Monday, April 28, 2025 at 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET
  • Xtandi: Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

Town Hall Meeting

  •  Wednesday, April 30, 2025:
    • Session 1 at 10:00 AM – 12:15 PM ET
    • Session 2 at 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Event Attendance and Registration 

CMS encourages practicing clinicians and researchers, as well as other interested parties, to register to speak at the town hall meeting. Participation in the roundtable events will be open to patients, patient advocacy organizations, and caregivers.

Anyone from the public may attend the town hall livestream as a listener and does not need to register to attend. The town hall meeting will be livestreamed and this page. The roundtable events will be private (i.e., not livestreamed and open only to patients, patient advocacy organizations, and caregivers selected to speak). Registration is only necessary to speak at one or more of the public engagement events.

Registration for the opportunity to speak at the public engagement events is now open and will close at 11:59 PM PT on March 19, 2025.

To register for the town hall meeting, click here.

To register for a roundtable event, click here.

Selected participants will receive a confirmation email the week of March 24, 2025. If you are selected to speak at the event for which you registered, you will have 4 days after receiving the confirmation email to confirm your availability to participate at the selected event date and time, and any language interpretation services you need.

CMS is interested in input relevant to the selected drugs, the condition(s) that the selected drug may be used to treat, and other medications that may be used to manage those conditions. This includes information related to the clinical benefits of the selected drugs compared to therapeutic alternatives, how the selected drugs address unmet need, and how the selected drugs impact specific populations. 

CMS will use the information shared during the roundtable events to better understand patients’ experiences with the conditions and diseases treated by the selected drugs and patients’ experiences with the selected drugs themselves. CMS will use the information shared during the town hall meeting to better understand clinicians’ experiences prescribing and/or managing treatment with the selected drugs or therapeutic alternatives and clinicians’ considerations that drive treatment choice between the selected drugs and therapeutic alternatives. The information shared during both the town hall meeting and the roundtable events will also inform CMS’ identification of therapeutic alternatives, key outcomes, and adjustment of the starting point to develop the initial offer in negotiating with manufacturers of selected drugs. CMS will release redacted transcripts for the town hall meeting and each of the roundtable events, omitting participant names and other identifying information after all the events have ended.

For more information about the public engagement events, please see the Frequently Asked Questions document linked here. (PDF)

To accommodate as many participants as possible during the town hall meeting, public statements will be limited (e.g., no more than four minutes per person). To help participants in planning remarks, CMS is providing the following optional discussion topics: 

Town Hall Meeting

  •  Experience prescribing and/or managing treatment with the selected drug or therapeutic alternatives for the condition(s) treated by the selected drug.
  • Information related to the goals of the treatment for the condition(s) treated by the selected drug, including outcomes used to assess improvement or treatment response.
  • Considerations that drive treatment choice among the selected drug and therapeutic alternatives.
  • Information about the extent to which the selected drug currently represents (or does not represent) a therapeutic advance as compared to therapeutic alternatives.
  • Information about the extent to which the selected drug or therapeutic alternatives currently address (or do not address) an unmet medical need for the condition(s) treated by the selected drug.
  • Any other information about the selected drug, the condition(s) it is used to treat, and other treatments used for that condition(s) that the speaker believes CMS should consider.
     

Roundtable Events
 

  • Patients’ day-to-day experiences living with the condition(s) treated by the selected drug, including how the experience may differ for different patient populations as well as patients’ caregivers and families.
  • How the selected drug impacts patients, including both benefits and side effects, as compared to the therapeutic alternative(s), and which outcomes matter most to patients with the condition(s) treated by the selected drug.
  • Any other information about the selected drug, the condition(s) it is used to treat, and other treatments used for that condition(s) that the speaker believes CMS should consider. 


Contact Information

For further information about the public engagement events please contact CMS by email at IRARebateAndNegotiation@cms.hhs.gov with the subject line “Public Engagement Events.”

 

Page Last Modified:
03/12/2025 01:50 PM