White bagging is a process that leverages specialty pharmacies to safely distribute certain provider-administered drugs to help improve affordability. A provider sends a prescription for the drug to a specialty pharmacy that will ship a patient’s outpatient medication directly to the site of care where the product is then administered to the patient. The specialty pharmacy bills the plan sponsor directly for the medication. (also see Brown Bagging and physician-administered drugs)

The manufacturer’s list price for a prescription drug for sale to wholesalers or other direct purchasers. WAC is published by pricing services, such as First Data Bank, MediSpan, and Red Book, but does not include discounts, rebates, or other manufacturer incentives.

An entity in the drug supply chain that purchases drugs directly from a drug manufacturer to sell and distribute to pharmacies or providers. Some wholesalers represent independent pharmacies through their company-owned pharmacy services administrative  organizations (PSAOs). About 90% of drugs in the United States are distributed through three wholesalers: Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Cardinal Health, and McKesson Corporation.