AffirmedRx Named No. 5 on the Inc. 5000, the Highest Ranking Ever Achieved by a Pharmacy Benefit Manager
AffirmedRx, PBC has been named the fifth fastest growing private company in America on the 2026 Inc. 5000. No pharmacy benefit manager has ever reached the top ten in the history of the list.
The Inc. 5000 ranks companies by revenue growth across every industry in the country, from financial services and artificial intelligence to travel and food. Healthcare companies regularly appear near the top of the list. A PBM never has. That milestone belongs to a company built on a simple promise: full transparency, a flat administrative fee, and 100 percent of rebates passed through to the plans and patients we serve.
“This recognition belongs to our clients and our team,” said Greg Baker, CEO of AffirmedRx. “Employers told us they wanted a pharmacy benefit partner that works for them, not against them. Our growth proves that when you remove the games from pharmacy benefits, the market responds.”
Why Employers Are Moving
More Americans take prescription drugs than ever before, and they pay more for them. Just over 165 million people under age 65 get health coverage through their employer, and those employers feel the pressure. In a 2025 nationwide survey, employers cited drug prices as the single greatest threat to healthcare affordability, ahead of hospital prices and even cell and gene therapies.
At the same time, trust in traditional PBMs has collapsed. Lawsuits involving major employers and action from the Federal Trade Commission put the industry model under a spotlight. Three vertically integrated conglomerates process roughly 80 percent of prescription claims, and they own the pharmacies, the PBMs, and in some cases the providers and the drug manufacturing. When one company controls every step of the transaction, plan sponsors have no way to know what a drug really costs.
A Different Model
AffirmedRx was founded as a Public Benefit Corporation to put patients before profits. The model is straightforward. Clients pay the real cost of every drug, with no spread. AffirmedRx earns a flat administrative fee and nothing else. Every rebate dollar passes through to the plan. Formulary decisions are made by pharmacists on the basis of clinical value and lowest net cost, because the highest rebate is not the same thing as the lowest cost.
Patients are supported by Patient Care Advocates, clinicians who proactively guide members to the safest, most effective, and most affordable therapy. The Public Benefit Corporation structure makes the commitment permanent. AffirmedRx is legally accountable for improving the lives of the people it serves, not only for financial returns.
What Comes Next
The No. 5 ranking reflects more than the growth of one company. It marks a shift in the market. Between 2024 and 2025, transparent PBMs more than doubled their presence among respondents to a nationwide employer survey, and momentum has only accelerated since. Employers, unions, municipalities, and health systems are asking harder questions and demanding real answers.
AffirmedRx intends to keep answering them. To learn what a fully transparent pharmacy benefit could mean for your organization, visit AffirmedRx.com.