Letter calls on the agency to use every available tool to keep prescription drug coverage affordable as millions of Medicare beneficiaries prepare for the 2027 Part D plan year
August 7, 2026 - WASHINGTON – On Thursday, AARP sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
urging the agency to take every available step to ensure Medicare beneficiaries continue to have access to affordable Part D prescription drug coverage. AARP called on CMS to prioritize stability, affordability, and access while continuing efforts to lower prescription drug costs for older adults following the agency's decision to end its temporary Part D premium stabilization demonstration after the 2026 plan year.
Since CMS's announcement, AARP is “increasingly hearing from older Americans who worry they may face much higher Part D premiums next year,” AARP wrote. “These concerns come at a time when affordability is already a major challenge with rising premiums, deductibles and drug costs straining household budgets.”
To help respond to concerns, AARP urged CMS to "release its full preliminary analysis of 2027 Part D premiums and plan offerings."
"The new Medicare drug price negotiation program is delivering results, and we appreciate your continued efforts to implement it," the letter continued. "Negotiated prices for the first 10 selected drugs were approximately 22 percent below average net prices — lower than what Part D plans were paying previously — and second-round negotiated prices were approximately 44 percent below average net prices. Enrollee cost sharing for the first 10 negotiated drugs has also fallen sharply, by an average of 50 percent, and older Americans are expected to save a total of $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs from those drugs this year.
"AARP supports building on this progress to lower prices further and save taxpayer dollars: a new AARP report finds that applying most-favored-nation prices to 10 top brand-name drugs could reduce projected Medicare spending on those products by nearly $200 billion between 2029 and 2033, and CMS could also draw on approaches used in other high-income countries, such as negotiating prices shortly after a drug is approved or expanding the universe of drugs eligible for negotiation."
Read the full letter here.
AARP has long led the fight to lower prescription drug prices for older Americans. The organization championed Medicare's authority to negotiate lower drug prices and continues to push for stronger negotiation alongside reforms that increase price transparency, rein in pharmacy benefit managers, and help more Americans afford the medications they need.
About AARP
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the 125 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health and financial security, and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest-circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and the AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit aarp.org, aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPLatino and @AARPadvocates on social media.
Source: AARP