National Drug Code

What Does National Drug Code Mean?

The National Drug Code (NDC) is a code created and regularly updated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This 10-digit number is used to identify both prescription and non-prescription drugs. In the context of insurance, many insurance companies only cover certain drugs listed under the National Drug Code.

Insuranceopedia Explains National Drug Code

Prescription drugs can be very expensive, so whether they are covered by insurance is crucial for policyholders. If a particular drug is not covered and a patient needs it, they may have to pay a significant amount out of pocket to obtain it. Often, insurance companies will only cover prescription drugs listed under a National Drug Code (NDC), excluding non-prescription drugs. The same coverage question comes up in pet insurance, where some plans pay for prescriptions written by a vet and others do not, and our breakdown of whether pet insurance covers medication walks through what to look for in a policy.

The National Drug Code is similar to a barcode in that each unique NDC represents a different product. The numbers include codes for the manufacturer or distributor (known as the labeler), as well as specific product and package details. The FDA assigns the labeler code, while the other numbers are assigned by the labeler. Pharmacies are the businesses that actually scan and dispense drugs by their NDC, and if you run one, the bigger cost question is usually how much pharmacy business insurance runs each year.