EA, ML, GM: pricing units explained

What EA, ML, and GM mean

The weekly CMS NADAC file lists a price per unit for every drug. The unit depends on how the drug is dispensed:

• EA (each): used for tablets, capsules, and other countable items. One unit equals one tablet or capsule.
• ML (milliliter): used for liquids, including oral solutions and injectables. One unit equals one milliliter of volume.
• GM (gram): used for topical products like creams, ointments, and gels. One unit equals one gram of weight.

These units describe how the acquisition cost is measured. They don't tell you the strength of the drug or how it's used. NADAC is a per-unit cost pharmacies pay, not a retail price and not a recommended amount of anything.

Why the unit matters for comparison

You can't compare a NADAC line item to a pharmacy receipt unless you match units first. A quoted fill on a receipt usually shows a total price for a certain quantity. NADAC shows a price for one unit. To line them up, you need to know:

1. The per-unit NADAC price for that specific drug and package.
2. The quantity dispensed, in the same unit (each, milliliter, or gram).

Multiply the two:

unit price × quantity = total acquisition cost for that fill

This total is what the pharmacy paid to acquire that quantity of the drug, based on the NADAC benchmark. It is not the same as what the pharmacy charged, what insurance paid, or what a patient paid at the counter. Those numbers include markup, dispensing fees, and negotiated rates that NADAC doesn't capture.

A basic worked example

Say a NADAC entry lists a tablet at a certain price per EA. If a fill was for 30 tablets, the acquisition-cost comparison is:

• price per EA × 30 = total acquisition cost for that fill

For a liquid priced per ML, if the fill was 120 mL, the math is the same pattern:

• price per ML × 120 = total acquisition cost for that fill

For a topical priced per GM, if the tube contains 30 grams:

• price per GM × 30 = total acquisition cost for that fill

The arithmetic never changes. What changes is which unit applies to which product type.

Common mixups to avoid

• Package size versus dispensed quantity. A bottle might hold 100 mL, but a fill might only use 30 mL. Use the dispensed quantity, not the container size, when you multiply.
• Strength versus unit. NADAC's unit tracks volume or count, not concentration. Two products with the same ML price can have different strengths per milliliter. That's a clinical detail, not a pricing one, and it's outside what this site covers.
• Rounding on receipts. Retail totals are often rounded to the nearest cent per fill. When you multiply a per-unit NADAC price by quantity, expect small rounding differences, not exact matches.
• Assuming acquisition cost equals what you pay. The NADAC number is a benchmark for what pharmacies pay to acquire the drug. It does not include dispensing fees, and it is not a retail price. Never treat the multiplication result as a promised or implied savings figure. It's a reference point for comparison, nothing more.

How to use this when reading a drug page

On any drug page on this site, check which unit is listed (EA, ML, or GM) before you compare it to a fill. Match the quantity from your own paperwork to that unit, then multiply. That gives you a same-basis number to hold up against what was actually charged, so you can see the gap between acquisition cost and retail price for yourself.