Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that beginning in fiscal year 2021 it will “no longer require new antimicrobial drugs that fight serious infections to meet the ‘substantial clinical improvement’ bar if they have already been designated as needed drugs, known as Qualified Infectious Disease Products, by the FDA.” In addition, the 2020 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule also increased add-on payments for these treatments from 50% to 75%. BARDA Director Rick Bright discusses the new rule and how it can improve the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) drug marketplace and re-catalyze innovation in basic science discovery, and research and development efforts.