Pharmacy Discount Membership Programs

Some pharmacies offer discount price clubs and other membership discount card programs. These programs typically have offered discount drug prices to all customers and given the discounted drug prices to the cash-paying customers who enrolled in the program and paid a nominal membership fee. The Usual and Customary (UAC) Price regulation does not exclude persons who pay a nominal membership fee from the general public. Therefore, pharmacy discount membership program prices constitute discounts given or advertised to the general public pursuant to TAC Section 355.8544 (Subchapter J: Usual and Customary Prices), as well as applicable federal law. See, e.g., U.S. ex rel. Garbe v. Kmart Corp., 824 F.3d 632 (7th Cir. 2016). Pharmacy discount membership program prices must be submitted as the UAC price (as previously indicated in the April 2008 edition of the RxUpdate newsletter formerly published by VDP, refer to the April 2008 newsletter (PDF)), unless the price would be greater than the most frequently charged price for the same drug.

Refer to the Usual and Customary section for the definition of the UAC price.