Maci savings card: as little as $0 an implant with commercial insurance

Maci is given by a doctor or nurse and billed by the clinic, not a pharmacy. Your care team and your insurance decide which product you get, so ask them what you’d pay.

How to pay the least

Given by your care team

Billed by the clinic

Maci is given by a doctor or nurse, not picked up at a pharmacy.

Ask your care team or your plan what you’d pay before your visit.

Compare every option

Brand nameMaci

Authorized genericautologous cultured chondrocytes

Regular genericautologous cultured chondrocytes

What you’d pay

Cash priceAsk the pharmacy

Not soldThere isn’t one

Not soldAsk the pharmacy

Same as Maci?

The original

–

Brand nameThe maker’s card

MyCartilageCare Assist CoPay Program

Savings card from Vericel

No insuranceNeeds insuranceNo cash price listed.

Insurance · as little as $0 an implant

The card takes up to $8,000 an implant off your co-pay.

Or call 1-877-872-4643.

In the maker’s words

“Patients who meet all eligibility criteria and are enrolled in • Y ou are enrolled in MyCartilageCare and have the MCC Assist CoPay Program may pay as little as $0 for completed the Patient Certification.”

From the maker’s offer on mycartilagecare.com, checked November 2, 2026. Co-pay cards can’t be used with Medicare (including Medicare Advantage), Medicaid, TRICARE or VA.

Authorized genericNot sold

There isn’t one. An authorized generic is Maci itself, from the same company, sold without the brand name, and usually for less. For now Maci is the only choice; its maker’s savings card can lower what you pay.

See the brand name →

Regular genericNot sold

Maci is a biologic. Biologics don’t have generics, but some have biosimilars or an unbranded version from the same maker. Ask your pharmacist or prescriber whether one is sold. Generics usually come once the brand’s patents and exclusivity end. Until then, the maker’s savings card is the way to pay less.

See the brand name →

What it’s used for

Repairing cartilage damage in the knee

What the FDA label says

MACI® is an autologous cellularized scaffold product indicated for the repair of symptomatic, single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee with or without bone involvement in adults.

Limitations of Use

Effectiveness of MACI in joints other than the knee has not been established.
Safety and effectiveness of MACI in patients over the age of 55 years have not been established.

Source: the FDA label for Maci (Vericel Corporation), March 9, 2026. Full label on DailyMed

Good to know

“Commercial insurance” means a plan from a job, from the marketplace, or one you buy yourself. A retiree plan that’s part of Medicare counts as Medicare. Co-pay cards can’t be used with Medicare (including Medicare Advantage), Medicaid, TRICARE or VA.
Most cards need a sign-up on the maker’s site, and many work only if your plan covers the drug. Then give the card’s details to the clinic’s billing office.
Don’t stop or change a medicine without talking to your pharmacist or prescriber.

Prices checked November 2, 2026. Prices change: confirm with the pharmacy before you fill. drugalt.com/drug/maci/