Exparel

Written by Gary Heiting
Medically reviewed by Philip Ngo, PharmD
Updated on 7/19/2024

Cost of Exparel

Like other medications, the cost of Exparel can vary. Certain factors may affect its price, such as:

• your insurance plan, if you have coverage
• the pharmacy used
• the cost for the services of a healthcare professional to provide the injection

To find out how much Exparel costs, ask your doctor or insurance provider prior to your surgery. They may be able to suggest ways to save money on your prescription, including those described in this article. To find out what the drug costs when using Optum Perks coupons, see the prices shown above on this page.

Coupons for Exparel

Prescription drug coupons can help you save money by lowering the cost of Exparel. The Optum Perks coupons above can provide significant savings on your prescription costs.

However, coupons may not be available for medications that are only given by a healthcare professional, such as Exparel.

Note: Optum Perks coupons cannot be used with any insurance copays or benefits.

Available app for coupons

To make finding and using these coupons easier, you can download the Optum Perks app. To learn more about this prescription discount app, see this article.

Common questions about Exparel’s cost

Here are some common questions and answers about Exparel.

Is Exparel injection covered by insurance?

The cost of Exparel may or may not be covered by health insurance. It depends on your specific insurance policy.

To find out whether Exparel injections are covered by your policy, talk with your health insurance provider. Their phone number typically appears on the back of your insurance card.

Even if your insurance policy has prescription drug coverage, the price of an Exparel injection might be billed through your medical coverage. This is because a healthcare professional must give Exparel injections. If you have questions about this, talk with your doctor or your insurance provider.

What is the cost of Exparel vs. bupivacaine?

Exparel is a brand-name medication for local anesthesia. Brand-name drugs can be expensive because of the studies needed to test their safety and effectiveness before they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the United States.

Makers of a brand-name drug can patent and sell their drug for up to 20 years. When the patent for a brand-name drug expires, other drugmakers can make and sell generic versions.

Bupivacaine is a generic local anesthetic. Generic medications contain the same active ingredients as brand-name medications. (An active ingredient is what makes a medication work.) So they don’t require the same costly testing for approval. For this reason, generic drugs usually cost significantly less than brand-name medications like Exparel.

The active ingredient of Exparel is a specific formulation of bupivacaine called bupivacaine liposome.

For your specific cost of Exparel and whether a lower cost bupivacaine liposome injection is available, talk with your doctor, pharmacist, or insurance representative.

Resources

• Food and Drug Administration. (2024). Orange Book: Approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence evaluations. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/index.cfm
• PDR by ConnectiveRx. (n.d.). https://www.pdr.net

Disclaimer: Optum Perks has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.