RITALIN LA 20 MG CAPSULE

What it is

RITALIN LA 20 MG CAPSULE is how the CMS NADAC file names this product. The FDA NDC Directory lists it as methylphenidate hydrochloride, under the trade name “Ritalin LA”.

FDA gives its dosage form as capsule, extended release and its route as oral.

The labeler, the company named on the label, is Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

FDA’s Established Pharmacologic Class for it is Central Nervous System Stimulant.

The NADAC file of 2026-10-14 prices it under one NDC (National Drug Code), 00078-0370-05.

NADAC classes it as a brand-name drug (rate-setting class B), and does not mark it as sold over the counter.

What pharmacies pay

Pharmacies pay $363.07 for 30 capsules (30 × $12.10231 per EA, rounded to the cent), by the CMS NADAC file of 2026-10-14; that price took effect on 2025-10-22. That is what pharmacies pay their suppliers, not what they charge you.

NADAC’s explanation code for it: 4, carried forward from the previous file.

This NDC’s NADAC was carried forward from an earlier file (NADAC explanation code 2 or 4), not newly surveyed: it took effect on 2025-10-22. The file is new; the price is not.

NADAC also lists, on the row of one brand NDC, what pharmacies pay for the generic equivalent, a different product: $1.69545 per EA filed.

CMS NADAC · nadac-national-average-drug-acquisition-cost-20261014.csv · eff. 2026-09-23 · as of 2026-10-14 · retrieved 2026-10-17

What NADAC measures · Why 30 capsules · NADAC explanation codes · Carried-forward prices

The NDC

• 00078-0370-05 · Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation · $12.10231 per EA · eff. 2025-10-22 filed carried forward

Other strengths, forms and brands

59 other products in the NADAC file share the FDA nonproprietary name methylphenidate hydrochloride with RITALIN LA 20 MG CAPSULE. The 23 below share a strength or dosage form with it first; search OpenBill for the rest.

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. 2025-10-22, 2026-09-23 · 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

Its NADAC price is $12.10231 per EA filed.

Of the 203 other products in FDA’s Central Nervous System Stimulant class priced per EA, 59 have a higher middle NADAC price and 144 a lower one. The one in the middle is LISDEXAMFETAMINE 20 MG TB CHEW, at $4.33791 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. 2025-10-22, 2026-09-23 · as of 2026-10-14 · retrieved 2026-10-17

How the class comparison works

What Medicare paid

Medicare Part D paid $368.99 for 30 capsules, at an average of $12.29982 per EA in 2024 (2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31) for “Ritalin La” and “Methylphenidate HCl”, every strength and form sold under that name together (Medicare Part D Spending by Drug, file of 2026-06-25).

That average covers 1,202 Part D claims (fills, including refills) for 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31, across every maker, strength and form under the name.

Medicare's price is not your price.

What Part D spending measures · Which Medicare figure OpenBill compares · How the spread is worked out

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 30 capsules? Is it lower than what I would pay through my insurance?
• Is a generic version available, and would it suit me? NADAC lists a generic with the same ingredient, strength and dosage form by FDA: METHYLPHENIDATE CD 20 MG CAP. Ask your pharmacist or prescriber; do not switch on your own.
• If you have Medicare Part D: what is my plan’s copay or coinsurance for it? The Part D average on this page is not what you pay.
• These are questions about price, not medical advice. Do not change or stop a medicine without talking to your prescriber or pharmacist.