PREVALITE PACKET
FDA nonproprietary name: cholestyramine
For 1 unit (EA)
Pharmacies pay
$0.83 filed
1 × $0.83267 per EA
CMS NADAC · nadac-national-average-drug-acquisition-cost-20261014.csv · eff. 2026-09-23 · as of 2026-10-14 · retrieved 2026-10-17
Medicare
We don’t know yet
No Medicare reference price. Part D: OpenBill did not match this NDC to a usable Medicare Part D spending row. Either Part D has none for it, or the rows that share its name could not safely be tied to it (for example, they mix units, routes or release forms, or the drug is sold over the counter, which Part D does not cover). Part B: This NDC is not in the current quarter’s Medicare Part B NDC-HCPCS crosswalk, so it has no Part B payment limit.
The spread
We don’t know yet
There is no Medicare figure to compare with, so there is no spread.
Cost-plus estimate
$5.95 estimated
$0.83 + $0.12 (15%) + $5.00 fee per fill = $5.95
This is a model, not a price any pharmacy quoted. Shipping is not included. For a pack this cheap, the $5.00 fee is most of the estimate. How it is worked out
OpenBill calculation · nadac-national-average-drug-acquisition-cost-20261014.csv · NADAC eff. 2026-09-23 (file of 2026-10-14, retrieved 2026-10-17)
Open the interactive card Change the quantity, type what you were charged, and see every record in full.
What it is
PREVALITE PACKET is how the CMS NADAC file names this product. The FDA NDC Directory lists it as cholestyramine, under the trade name “Prevalite”.
FDA gives its dosage form as powder, for suspension and its route as oral.
The labeler, the company named on the label, is Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC.
FDA’s Established Pharmacologic Class for it is Bile Acid Sequestrant.
The NADAC file of 2026-10-14 prices it under 3 NDCs (National Drug Codes); the FDA directory lists 2 of them.
NADAC classes it as a generic drug (rate-setting class G), and does not mark it as sold over the counter.
What pharmacies pay
Pharmacies pay $0.83 for 1 unit (EA) (1 × $0.83267 per EA, rounded to the cent), by the CMS NADAC file of 2026-10-14; that price took effect on 2026-09-23. That is what pharmacies pay their suppliers, not what they charge you.
NADAC’s explanation code for it: 1, calculated from the most recently completed pharmacy survey.
What NADAC measures · NADAC explanation codes
All 3 NDCs
- 00245-0036-42 · Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC · $0.83267 per EA · eff. 2026-09-23 filed
- 00245-0036-60 · Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC · $0.83267 per EA · eff. 2026-09-23 filed
- 00245-0036-89 · not listed as a package in the FDA directory · $0.83267 per EA · eff. 2026-09-23 filed
Other strengths, forms and brands
5 other products in the NADAC file share the FDA nonproprietary name cholestyramine with PREVALITE PACKET.
| Product | Pharmacies pay per unit | Medicare per unit |
|---|---|---|
| CHOLESTYRAMINE LIGHT PACKET | $0.83267 per EA filed | We don’t know yet |
| CHOLESTYRAMINE LIGHT POWDER | $0.11311 to $0.28353 per GM filed | $1.10594 per GM filed |
| CHOLESTYRAMINE PACKET | $0.83426 per EA filed | We don’t know yet |
| CHOLESTYRAMINE POWDER | $0.08508 to $0.0924 per GM filed | We don’t know yet |
| PREVALITE PACKET this page | $0.83267 per EA filed | We don’t know yet |
| PREVALITE POWDER | $0.16976 per GM filed | We don’t know yet |
Part D is one average per brand and generic name, over every strength and form.
CMS NADAC · nadac-national-average-drug-acquisition-cost-20261014.csv · eff. 2025-11-19, 2026-09-23, 2026-09-30 · as of 2026-10-14 · retrieved 2026-10-17
Medicare Part D · DSD_PTD_RY26_P04_V10_DY24_BGM.csv · eff. 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31 · as of 2026-06-25 · retrieved 2026-10-18
Compared with its class
The middle of its 3 NDCs’ NADAC prices is $0.83267 per EA filed.
Of the 5 other products in FDA’s Bile Acid Sequestrant class priced per EA, 2 have a higher middle NADAC price and 2 a lower one; 1 has the same. The one in the middle is CHOLESTYRAMINE LIGHT PACKET, at $0.83267 per EA filed (eff. 2026-09-23).
Prices are compared per unit, whatever the strength or dose, and a class is not a list of substitutes.
CMS NADAC · nadac-national-average-drug-acquisition-cost-20261014.csv · eff. 2026-09-23 · as of 2026-10-14 · retrieved 2026-10-17
What Medicare paid
We don’t know yet; the card above says why.
Which Medicare figure OpenBill compares · How Part D is matched · How Part B is matched
What to ask at the counter
None of these figures is your price: what you pay depends on your pharmacy, your insurance, coupons and discounts.
- What is your cash price for 1 unit (EA)? Is it lower than what I would pay through my insurance?
- These are questions about price, not medical advice. Do not change or stop a medicine without talking to your prescriber or pharmacist.
Questions
- Why does this page start at 1 unit (EA)?
- NADAC prices this product per EA, and the FDA NDC Directory lists 2 of its 3 NDCs (it does not list the other one) as dosage form “POWDER, FOR SUSPENSION” with route “ORAL”. Only a tablet, capsule, lozenge or troche with route “ORAL”, or a tablet or film with route “SUBLINGUAL” or “BUCCAL”, starts at 30, and none of these is one. NADAC’s EA for it may be a whole package (such as a kit, pen, syringe, vial or inhaler) or one dose inside it, and the files do not say which. So the card starts at 1 unit (EA) rather than guess how many make up a fill; change it to match your prescription.