12/21/2025
What’s a U&C Game? 🎯
“U&C” stands for Usual and Customary—the benchmark pharmacies use to define a drug’s standard retail price. PBMs rely on this number to calculate reimbursement and discounts, but when that benchmark shifts, so do the dollars behind it.
Why Does It Matter? 💵
When U&C becomes “move-to-profit”:
💰 PBMs can manipulate definitions to influence what counts as the true “usual” price.
🏪 Some pharmacies inflate or suppress pricing data to fit PBM contract terms.
📉 Plans and members may not realize their benchmark has changed—and their costs with it.
The Hidden Pricing Game 🕹️
With U&C manipulation:
🔍 Payment accuracy takes a back seat to strategic pricing.
🏦 PBMs and select partners gain flexibility to capture margin in the shadows.
📈 Employers and members foot the bill for numbers they can’t see or verify.
Bottom line: 🧠
When PBMs control the benchmark, they control the payout—and that means who wins and who pays can quietly change overnight.