What Is White Bagging?

White bagging is a practice where a patient purchases a drug from a specialty pharmacy, and the specialty pharmacy ships the drug to a provider office, hospital, or clinic for administration. If an insurer requires a patient to white bag, it is typically from a specialty pharmacy they are affiliated with.

Requiring a patient to white bag circumvents the traditional “buy-and-bill” model infusion providers rely on. Buy-and-bill allows infusion centers to manage their own drug inventory and bill for drugs administered to patients. Infusion providers have historically been able to offset the cost of administering complex medications through drug margins generated under the buy-and-bill model. Under a white bagging mandate, infusion providers go without proper reimbursement.

Anti-white bagging legislation has restricted or prohibited the requirement that patients obtain their drugs from a specialty pharmacy selected by their insurance company. Oftentimes, these laws will prevent insurance companies from conditioning coverage on the use of their specialty pharmacy.

White Bagging Legislative Map

Select your state to learn whether your state has passed or proposed anti-white bagging legislation.

White Bagging Action Campaigns

Take action against white bagging mandates by asking your elected officials to support legislation that regulates this practice.

White Bagging Resources

Download and share the following resources related to White Bagging.