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9 Accordingly, CMS reviewed the CY 2026 bid submissions to determine the appropriate level for each element in CY 2026. In selecting the revised parameters for CY 2026, CMS is facilitating the program’s return to operating under regular market conditions by reducing the amount of premium stabilization from the government in CY 2026. Consequently, in CY 2026, the demonstration will include two elements. First, the base beneficiary premium (BBP) for participating standalone PDPs will be reduced by $10. The BBP reduction will be less than this amount if the full reduction would cause the plan-specific total Part D premium to be less than $0. In that case, the BBP reduction for that plan would be the difference between the plan- specific total Part D premium and $0. Second, a year-over-year increase limit of $50 will be applied to individual (i.e., non-employer) plan premiums, meaning any plan-specific total Part D premium would not be permitted to increase more than $50 compared to that plan’s premium in CY 2025 (that is, the actual premium charged by the plan for CY 2025, inclusive of the premium reductions under the CY 2025 demonstration for participating PDPs). The year-over-year limit will be applied after the reduction in the BBP and applies to the plan’s total Part D premium (that is, the sum of the Part D basic and Part D supplemental premiums). For CY 2026 PDPs that are comprised of crosswalked enrollees from multiple CY 2025 PDPs, the increase limit will be applied to the change between the lowest CY 2025 premium among the PDPs whose enrollees are in the CY 2026 PDP – whether they were already enrolled in that PDP in CY 2025 or are crosswalked into it for CY 2026 – and the CY 2026 premium for the PDP. CMS is eliminating the narrowed risk corridor thresholds present in the CY 2025 demonstration (i.e., setting the value of this element equal to the value of the element under the Part D statute and applicable regulations absent the demonstration). The risk corridor thresholds for CY 2026 for all PDPs will revert to the thresholds and share of losses assumed by the government that existed prior to the CY 2025 demonstration. The government, through an increase in the Part D direct subsidy paid to participating PDP sponsors, will cover the full amount of the reduction in premiums under the demonstration. This increase will account for both the $10 reduction in BBP and the year-over-year premium increase limit of $50 on a plan’s total Part D premium. Direct subsidy payments are equal to the Part D plan’s risk-adjusted standardized bid and reduced by the Part D plan’s basic Part D premium. The reduction in the plan’s basic Part D premium will directly result in increased direct subsidy payments. In the voluntary demonstration for CY 2026, the BBP reduction of $10 and year-over-year limit of $50 will decrease the PDP’s basic Part D premium and will cause a corresponding increase to the PDP’s direct subsidy payment. The voluntary demonstration does not affect any other payment operation or calculation conducted by CMS with respect to participating plans. For participating plans, all other payment operations will be conducted as normal using the premiums under the demonstration parameters. Eligibility: All standalone PDPs, including Employer Group Waiver Plans (EGWPs), who participated in the demonstration in CY 2025 or are newly available in CY 2026 are eligible to participate in the