I saw this headline over the weekend and thought of my friend whose son has Type 1 diabetes. I hope this is as good as it sounds. Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur, launched an online pharmacy that promises to make prescriptions affordable. The company, called Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company, is selling generic drugs at wholesale prices to the public. By cutting out the middlemen, Cuban will pass the savings on to the consumer, collecting a flat 15% fee and a $3 pharmacist fee. The only catches so far are, 1) they only take cash and 2) they only have 100 drugs as of right now. But they are looking to add as many drugs as they can, including injectables.
Mark Cuban is offering the general public a way to get the healthcare they need at a truly affordable price … and all it took was a little less corporate greed. Whodathunkit?!?
The Mavs owner/entrepreneur just launched an online pharmacy that sounds too good to be true — providing more than 100 common generic drugs … practically at cost. In other words, the medications are significantly cheaper than most anywhere else on the marketplace.
It’s called the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company, and it operates as a prescription drug wholesaler … buying these meds directly from manufacturers, and doesn’t gratuitously price hike upon reselling them on his site … unlike a lot of other pharmaceutical companies.
Now, Mark and co. don’t wanna fool anyone — they are turning a bit of a profit in their endeavor here … acknowledging upfront there’s a 15% markup on their drugs, plus a small pharmacist fee of $3 (and slight shipping costs too). Plus, you gotta pay for their drugs out of pocket.
Mark’s business model is being as “radically transparent” as possible … to help as many people as possible, so it’s truly a humanitarian effort in spirit.
I am incredible fortunate *touches wood* in that the prescriptions I take currently are covered by my insurance. So I have not had to look into coupons or discount prescription programs. There are some existing apps such as GoodRx and SingleCare already available but I don’t know them beyond what they advertise. CB said she used GoodRx once when something wasn’t covered by her insurance and it saved her $30. That’s a lot. I know that people on fixed incomes live at the mercy of drug companies. I constantly hear people gutted at the counter when their prescription has gone up after the new year. Sometimes it’s just a few dollars, but when every dollar you have is accounted for, the money isn’t there. So low cost drug programs make a huge impact.
Cuban’s drug company sounds like it’s going to change lives, though. The example cited is for Imatinib, a generic for Gleevec. Imatinib is an inhibitor that slows the progression in leukemia. And while most patients obtain a form of remission from Imatinib, it does not cure the disease. So it’s a lifelong treatment for the patient. Imatinib retails for $2502.60 (!!!) for a 30-day supply. Cuban’s company offers that same supply for $17.10 plus fees, That’s incredible. According to this article, there are already common coupons for Imatinib, but even those are double or triple what Cuban is offering. I talked about my friend whose kid has diabetes because we’ve heard about the insulin price gouging that’s gone on, it’s criminal. This is have a huge impact on her if they eventually carry the drugs she needs. I don’t know much about Cuban as a person but I really hope this is an altruistic endeavor. It’s so necessary in this country. And with all Cuban’s dealings in sports, entertainment and Silicon Valley, he has to have an army of shark level lawyers (yes, the pun was intentional) who are ready for war. Which is good, because you know Big Pharma is coming for him and they’re just plain evil.
Photo credit: Getty Images and Avalon Red
We use GoodRX for my elderly mother and it’s great. Her prescriptions are actually a little cheaper than her paid for prescription plan except GoodRX is free.
Good for Mark Cuban. My mom adores him. He does seem like a good dude.
Every single time we watch Shark Tank (her favorite) she tells me ‘he used to be homeless.’ Not sure if that’s true, perhaps it is, but she tells me every Friday night when we watch that show! It’s become a running joke with me and my nephew – her grandson. I’ll text him on Friday nights that Shark Tank is on and Nanny and I are watching. He immediately will text back ‘you know MC used to be homeless.’ 🤣
My cousin was engaged to Cuban decades ago ( they broke up soon after) brought him to Thanksgiving dinner. My Dad who could be kind of a cynic when it came to boyfriends was completely wowed by him and told her to hang on to him. Guess he was right..
This is an awesome service for people who don’t want to order their meds from overseas. Word on the curb is that big pharma is running to Congress to stop this (watch Joe Manchin pull out all of the stops now). And if how congress handled the hedge funds crying about losing money on Game Stop stock last year, I imagine that this wil be a short lived option for prescriptions.
As an aside, my mother’s doctor prescribed her Humira for arthritis; mom is retired and on a fixed income. The cost for the biweekly injection is $6,500; out of pocket is $1,800.
And then people wonder why we are exploring becoming expats.
@Moira I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis since I was 13 (in my 40s now). Humira is my current biologic and without it my life expectancy would be early 60s. They have recently approved biosimilars (think generic but for biologic) for Humira, which my insurance company forced a change to. I have successfully transitioned to Hulio which is down to $1,000 from $1,700 here in Canada. Bonus is that it doesn’t burn like a wasp sting like Humira.
@Elizabelle, Thank you so much for this info. Will definitely check into this . Hope you continue to thrive–rheumatoid arthritis in a b$tch.
@ Elizabelle, I am so sorry that you are suffering so much. No one should have to suffer and still be at the mercy of a bunch of executives who want to steal from the poor to enrich their lifestyles. I don’t know the Canadian prescription pay scale, but at least there is some leeway in the price. I hope in Canada that there is a financial cap on OOP for your medications!
@ Moira’s Rose’s Garden, I am so sorry that your Mum has to pay such exorbitant prices for her much needed medications. This country has become a country of the selfish fleecing the selfless. I hope that you are able to find a much more affordable option. How could someone actually think that anyone, besides the Fat Cats of Pharma, pay these ludicrous amounts??
@BothSidesNow thanks! I was fortunate to negotiate full prescription coverage at my current job, but haven’t always been that lucky. But we definitely have better insurance options in Canada.
@Moira the biologics/biosimilars also have patient support orgs run by the drug companies. Sometimes you can negotiate financial help direct from them. Best of luck to your mom!
but the free market!!
he’s the anti pharma bro! what a great idea! I can’t see how anyone could stop it as long as the pharmacists are licensed and rules followed. I wish all the success in the world to him and this venture.
I just started using GoodRX. I’m retired military and switched my medical to off base this year and had to pay for some new prescriptions for the first time last month. With insurance, two monthly prescriptions would have me out of pocket $125.00 a month. My mother told me about Good RX and the prescriptions total ended up being $9.00 for me. It was a wake up call for me because I had no idea. I’m just glad my mom had told me about it because my budget is tight. .
If Mark Cuban can compete or make it even more competitive so the consumer wins on this, that’s awesome, but there are some good programs out there right now if you’re struggling with med prices.
Guys. Check out Canadian pharmacies online. I got a prescription there for a medicine that was going to cost me $450 for a thirty day supply for $45 per month. The US funds all the research and profits for the rest of the world. Canada negotiates drug prices. And we can access that through online pharmacies.
Lived in border towns we used to go to Canada a lot just for the lower cost of prescriptions.
My dad used to order most of his meds from Israel and Canada at 1/3 the price of US pharmacies. Saved hundreds of dollars a month.
When I had Leukemia, I was on multiple meds at first (also had a stem cell transplant, so I was also on anti rejection meds. I was paying a couple of hundred/per mo. *WITH* ins. For my most expensive med., Sprycell, my Rx, w/out ins., was almost $8,500/mo. That would’ve been $102,000. PER YEAR/ $510,000. for the 5 yrs. I was on it. Thank God I had ins. (the one * really good* thing about teaching all those years!) and with that, the Rx was $30/mo.
I’d be dead w/out the ins.
This is awesome and I hope it helps a lot of people.
It still horrifies me and makes me so angry every time I’m actively reminded that some thing like diabetes can kill you if you live in the US and you’re poor. Every country has its issues but this is so horrifying.
Good work this guy.
I think one of Mark Cuban’s kids has severe allergies. I haven’t watched Shark Tank in awhile butI remember him mentioning it during a couple of presentations. He came across as a caring father who is also a problem solver with money to try/implement solutions.
Joe Manchin’s daughter is the reason people can’t afford Epi-pens.
The impact this will have on so many lives.. it has me in tears.
I know. I am so lucky that I have the insurance that I do, but in the early 2000’s, I had 3 surgeries, back to back. My husband was practicing already but he was still driving to Houston to teach the medical students at Baylor, so he would do rounds at the Veterans Hospital in Houston once a week. If I hadn’t had two medical insurance coverages, I would have had to pay out about 65k per surgery!!! I have 3 Medtronic electronic medical devices. They cost an average of 135k each, which luckily the secondary insurance with Baylor College of Medicine which saved my ass. This does not include the fees associated with the surgeons, OR or hospitalizations, as each bill was a little different in price as one Medtronic unit was an upgrade.
The plight of Americans not being able to pay for their life saving medical needs are abhorrent! We should NOT be living under the threat of eating or trying to live another day in this country. We have some third world country issues here at home.
This is amazing and I’m all for it!
I’ve used goodrx and it does save.
I’ve also needed life saving less as a child that put my parents in debt.
There are many types of medicine that are produced at low costs that do help save lives. They should always be available without a steep markup.
Cuban is really something special for this.
Honestly I’m here for it. This is how you be a decent person while also being a billionaire. Elon and Bezos should take note.
How refreshing that a billionaire is using his money to actually HELP people, to give back for the good life he has, rather than do a d!ck waving contest to compensate for their inadequacies as human beings.
Joe Manchin and Jim Justice can f-off. The reason WVa is so poor is because of selfish millionaires like them who suck all money out of the state for themselves. The first week we lived here my husband was behind an old guy at the pharmacy bargaining with the pharmacist which medications he was going to purchase and which he was leaving behind. One of them, he only took half the prescribed amount because that’s all he could afford!
I am here for this and and prefer this over the Billionaire Bro Club that make phallic rockets that pierce the Earths atmosphere for their ego boosts. Mr. Cuban is being honest about how much money he’s getting up front. One of the drugs is a cancer drug that costs patients 9 grand without insurance! With this plan it’s around $45 a month.
Cuban also might receive a Nobel Peace Prize for this.
Wow! As a doc, this is awesome! A billionaire who is actually working for the good of mankind instead of launching himself into the infinite universe.
Exactly!
Yes!! I say we all praise Cuban for using his money for those in desperate need. No one in America, should have to choose between their daily needed medication AND whether they will be able to eat or pay for their heating.
I am sick to death of the insurance and the pharmaceutical companies!!! You will start seeing less people enter the medical field due to what Insurance Companies are doing to physicians! The BIG FAT Insurance Executives determine how much THEY will pay your physician, not what the physician CHARGES!!! That’s right!!! The Executives decide what your specialist will be paid for those 8-10 years of medical school to care for your precious health, while all of these pr!cks have NO IDEA what it is like to be a physician!! They have TOO much power in Washington!!
In addition to every single PR!CK that was involved in securing the Coronavirus Vaccine to IP, can ALL go to hell!!
We, the American Middle Class and Lower Class pay the greatest amount of our WEALTH into the taxpayer pool BUT the big Fat Billionaires got together and secured the vaccine into IP which increased THEIR wealth substantially! In fact, the top 1% became 10x’s MORE wealthy FROM the coronavirus!!! Again, another class of pr!cks making money off of OUR backs and having too much POWER in Washington!!!
I am so sick of the American people being billed to death by the top 1%! It’s time to stop corporate contributions!!!
This is wonderful, good for him.
This is what the super rich should do with money they will never be able to spend. Not space tourism in penis-shaped rockets.
YES, YES! Agree 100%! Here’s a good question for those guys: Why don’t you utilize $1B to help the masses with costs related to healthcare, especially prescriptions? We also need to be demanding that our lawmakers start knocking Big Pharma back on everything. Meds are expensive because the companies can get away with it (I mean, come on…ad time during the evening news for those 4-minute ads touting the latest and greatest meds is not cheap.), when the reality is, individual pills are NEVER as expensive to produce as claimed. Insulin should be free, like Covid shots, except All. The. Time.
This is amazing, good on Mark Cuban! I needed a feel good story.