Published October 14, 2026 at 5:02 PM EDT

Maryland is poised to pass legislation early next year that would dramatically increase the number of drugs it sets upper payment limits on and, in turn, saving the state and consumers money.

Maryland legislators will introduce a bill next session that will give the state’s prescription drug affordability board new powers.

The bill allows the board to set limits on what the state will pay for drugs the federal government has already set a maximum fair price on.

To date, the government has capped prices on what Medicare will pay for 25 drugs with its negotiated maximum fair price.

“We are seeing that it is working because this year alone, people on Medicare are expected to save over one and a half billion dollars on their prescriptions,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who said he will sign the bill if re-elected next month.

A majority of currently incumbent state senators and delegates have already pledged to vote for the bill.

Unless there are major upsets at the ballot box this November, the bill will likely make it into law.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed under the Biden administration, gave the federal government the power to negotiate a maximum price with drug manufacturers. The first cycle of those negotiated prices took effect for ten prescriptions early this year and include drugs like Ozempic and Xifaxan.

Fifteen more will go into effect next year, and another 15 have been selected for negotiation for 2028.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group that represents the industry, is pushing back on the bill.

“Government price-setting creates uncertainty for patients and risks limiting access to medicines. Medicines may not be available if a pharmacy, hospital or physician cannot purchase them at the capped price. In countries that rely on government price-setting policies, patients often have access to fewer new medicines and wait longer for breakthrough treatments. Additionally, these policies fail to address insurers and PBMs that decide what patients pay and what hoops they must jump through to get their medicines," said Will May a spokesman for the organization.

Maryland already had upper payment limits set for state and local government health plans for Ozempic and Jardiance, estimated to save the state about $6.1 million a year.

The state will be able to set limits for private plans in 2028.

“It takes a while for the board to set these upper payment limits,” said Vincent DeMarco, president of Maryland Healthcare for All!. “But what we've come to conclude is that there's a way to make it happen more quickly because of the negotiation between the federal government and the prescription drug corporations.”

The bill will simply allow the drug affordability board to quickly set limits on the same drugs the federal government caps under Medicare. That will allow the Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board to continue to focus on other drugs.