healthcare.dev docs
API referenceDrugs

Search NADAC prices

GET /v1/drugs/nadac

GET https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/nadac

Search NADAC prices by drug name, strength or form (as CMS describes the NDC, e.g. atorvastatin 10 mg tablet) or by NDC: a hyphenated package NDC (0003-0894-21), a hyphenated product NDC (0003-0894, all its packages) or the start of an 11-digit NDC. Results carry the current price but not history; look an NDC up for that. Retired NDCs are excluded unless include_retired=true.

Requires an API key: Authorization: Bearer hdev_live_.... See Authentication.

Query parameters

NameTypeRequiredDescriptionExample
qstringyesSearch text (fuzzy)diabetes
limitintegernoPage size (max 100)25
cursorstringnoOpaque cursor from links.next
classification"G" | "B" | "B-ANDA" | "B-BIO"noOnly NDCs CMS priced as this class: G generic, B brand, B-ANDA, B-BIOG
include_retired"true" | "false"noAlso return NDCs CMS no longer prices (default false)true
view"compact" | "full"nocompact returns only the fields an agent usually needs (fewer tokens); full (default) returns every fieldcompact
fieldsstringnoComma-separated record fields to return, e.g. code,display,billablecode,display,billable

Examples

curl

curl "https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HDEV_API_KEY"

TypeScript

const res = await fetch("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.HDEV_API_KEY}` },
});
const { data, meta } = await res.json();

Python

import os
import requests

res = requests.get("https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25", headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['HDEV_API_KEY']}"})
body = res.json()

Try it

GEThttps://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25&classification=G&include_retired=true&view=compact&fields=code%2Cdisplay%2Cbillable
Get a free key
Copy as curl
curl "https://api.healthcare.dev/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25&classification=G&include_retired=true&view=compact&fields=code%2Cdisplay%2Cbillable" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HDEV_API_KEY"

Response

Matching NDCs, best first

{
  "data": [
    {
      "ndc": "string",
      "ndc_description": "string",
      "nadac_per_unit": 0,
      "pricing_unit": "EA",
      "effective_date": "2026-10-01",
      "as_of_date": "2026-10-01",
      "classification_for_rate_setting": "G",
      "otc": true,
      "pharmacy_type_indicator": "string",
      "explanation_codes": [
        "string"
      ],
      "corresponding_generic": {
        "nadac_per_unit": 0,
        "effective_date": "2026-10-01"
      },
      "status": "active",
      "effective_start": "2026-10-01",
      "effective_end": "2026-10-01",
      "replaced_by": [
        "string"
      ],
      "match_score": 0
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "source": "cms-icd10",
    "data_version": "2026.1",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-24T12:00:00Z",
    "license": "Public domain (CMS). Reference data, not medical advice."
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25",
    "next": "/v1/drugs/nadac?q=diabetes&limit=25&cursor=eyJrIjoiRTExLjkifQ"
  }
}

Fields

FieldTypeAlways presentDescription
ndcstringyesNDC-11 (5-4-2, no hyphens) as CMS lists it
ndc_descriptionstringyesDrug name, strength and dosage form, as CMS lists it
nadac_per_unitnumberyesNational average acquisition cost, USD per unit
pricing_unit"EA" | "ML" | "GM"yesUnit the price is per: EA each (tablet, capsule, patch...), ML milliliter, GM gram
effective_datestring (date)yesDate the current rate took effect
as_of_datestring (date)yesAs of Date of the latest weekly NADAC file that lists this NDC (for a retired NDC, the last file that did)
classification_for_rate_setting"G" | "B" | "B-ANDA" | "B-BIO"yesClassification for Rate Setting: whether CMS treated the NDC as generic (G) or brand (B) when calculating the rate. B-ANDA is a brand approved under an ANDA; B-BIO a biosimilar (treated as brand).
otcbooleanyesOver-the-counter product
pharmacy_type_indicatorstringyesSurvey the rate comes from; C/I = chain and independent pharmacies (the only type CMS uses today)
explanation_codesstring[]yesHow CMS calculated the rate: 1 from the most recent survey; 2 survey within ±2%, carried forward; 3 adjusted for published pricing changes or a help desk inquiry; 4 carried forward; 5 calculated based on package size; 6 CMS S/I/N drug category not applied
corresponding_genericobject | nullyesFor a multiple-source brand: the NADAC of its corresponding generic drug
status"active" | "retired" | "replaced"yes
effective_startstring (date)yes
effective_endstring | null (date)yes
replaced_bystring[]no
match_scorenumberyesHow well this result matches the query: 1 exact code or id, 0.9 code prefix, 0.5 to 0.9 every query word in the text (higher is closer), under 0.5 a fuzzy (typo-tolerant) match. Below 0.5, check the result before relying on it.

Errors

Errors are application/problem+json (RFC 9457). Branch on type, not on title. See Errors.

StatustypeWhen
400invalid-requestA parameter or the body failed validation; errors lists each field.
401unauthorizedMissing, malformed or revoked API key.
404not-foundNo record with that id (retired records are still returned).
429rate-limited / quota-exceededToo many requests per second (retry after Retry-After), or the monthly quota is used up.
503dataset-unavailable / unavailableThe dataset has no published version yet, or the service is degraded.

On this page