Cost Plus Drug analyses

Public data on the drug supply chain

The easiest way to counteract opacity is transparency. Each analysis here answers one question about who pays what for drugs in the United States, from federal filings, with the method and the data open.

·Sources: CMS, Department of Labor, FDA, SEC. Never a vendor.
·Every number links to the public record behind it.
·Download everything. Check everything.
·A new analysis publishes every Wednesday.
ANALYSIS 001 · PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2026

The employers paying one company for both

256 self-funded health plans buy pharmacy benefits and medical administration from the same conglomerate. 3.34 million employees, $629 million in disclosed PBM compensation. The arrangement has shrunk from 417 plans since 2021; the headcount has not. Every row links to the Form 5500 filing.

DOL Form 5500, Schedules C and A · plan years 2021 to 2024
ANALYSIS 002 · PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2026

Does acquisition cost fall after Cost Plus adds a generic?

1,069 generics Cost Plus added, against 773 it never carried. Raw, they cost pharmacies 10.5% less a year later. Most of that gap was opening before entry. The effect holds only for generics over $1 a unit.

CMS acquisition cost survey 2019 to 2026 · Cost Plus catalog history 2022 to 2026
ANALYSIS 003 Releases September 23

One molecule, eight Medicare prices, one cash price

Medicare Part B pays $2.35 to $13.15 per milligram of ustekinumab depending on the label. Two biosimilars cost more than the drug they copy. All 101 US biosimilars, priced against their reference product.

CMS Part B payment limits · FDA Purple Book · CMS Part D spending 2020 to 2024
ANALYSIS 004 Releases September 30

Who your employer pays for pharmacy

Every self-funded plan with 1,000 or more employees that names its PBM and discloses the fee, arranged by metro area. Each row carries the signed federal filing behind it.

DOL Form 5500, Schedule C · plan year 2023
ANALYSIS 005 Releases October 7

The markup, measured

What Cost Plus charges above pharmacy acquisition cost across its matched catalog, next to the retail price it displays beside each drug.

CMS acquisition cost survey · Cost Plus catalog
ANALYSIS 006 Releases October 14

Injectables in shortage, and who makes them

Drugs currently in shortage by molecule, how many manufacturers each one has, and which countries hold the registered plants.

FDA Drug Shortages · FDA Drug Establishments · FDA Orange and Purple Books
ANALYSIS 007 Releases October 21

Generics radar

Brand drugs losing exclusivity within 24 months, ranked by current federal spending, with the patent and exclusivity dates behind each one.

FDA Orange Book · CMS Part B and Part D spending
ANALYSIS 008 Releases October 28 In preparation

What commercial plans pay per unit

The drug mix behind employer coverage and the amount paid per unit, measured against what pharmacies pay to acquire the same drugs.

AHRQ MEPS · CMS acquisition cost survey
ANALYSIS 009 Releases November 4 In preparation

Where the pharmacies are not

Counties ranked by pharmacies per 10,000 people, independent share, and closures, set against CDC social vulnerability.

CMS · HRSA · CDC Social Vulnerability Index
AND MORE

The list keeps going

More analyses are in the pipeline. If one of these would be more useful sooner, or the question you want answered is not on this list, write and say so.

adrian.ruiz@verzihealth.com