- Shark Tank celebrity investor Mark Cuban has recently launched a new pharmaceutical drug company that provides affordable medicine to uninsured Americans, as well as those who may be underinsured.
- The service, called Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, has continually added generic medications to its medical storefront.
- Currently, over 700 different kinds of prescription medications are available to treat a myriad of conditions and symptoms.
- Cuban has started a larger conversation about the medical industry via social media, where many fans and current customers share how this venture may disrupt the American healthcare system.
Having earned a reputation as a sharp business tycoon over the last decade-plus, Shark Tank's Mark Cuban is causing a stir in the healthcare industry that many of the show's fans are surprised about, while being equally pleased to see.
A longtime owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Cuban has certainly branched off into nearly every industry imaginable as an investor (both on-screen and off!). But industry analysts were surprised to hear the news that Cuban unveiled his fully realized Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC) in January 2022, as it involves a business model that flips the current model of the pharmaceutical industry — and ends up offering a service that could help Americans save significantly on necessary treatment.
Cuban recently appeared on PBS' News Weekend program to explain the concept evolved from a former nonprofit and how the venture works, which he says is an "opportunity" to disrupt the prescription drug industry.
"Our approach at Cost Plus Drugs — which is we'll show you our actual cost, we'll mark it up 15%, we'll add $3 pharmacy handling fee and $5 shipping, and that's all you ever pay — that simplification and transparency has really had an impact," Cuban told PBS' Geoff Bennett.
And many of the new brand's first customers have taken to social media to share that new-fangled approach to selling drugs is actually helping them.
"I just got a three-month supply of two of my prescriptions with shipping for a total of $20," one Twitter user recently shared. "With insurance copay, I was paying $200 for [a three-month's supply] before."
"My mom's monthly prescription is only $14 on there, down from $270," another Tweeted. There are hundreds of similar Tweets directly shared to Mark Cuban's account, where the Shark Tank investor has shared more on why he started CostPlus Drugs in the first place.
Of course, Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs is far from perfect — there are valid criticisms on how the prescription drug distributor doesn't accept any forms of insurance, meaning some Americans may still be better off utilizing their comprehensive coverage at a conventional pharmacy, as noted in early Forbes coverage. But more importantly, Cost Plus Drugs has faced some challenges in that it's limited in how many generic prescription drugs it can offer currently. Read on below to learn more about how Cost Plus Drugs works for customers and which kinds of drugs you may find at a budget-friendly rate.
What kinds of medication are available at Cost Plus Drugs?
At launch, Cost Plus had carried around 100 medications, all of which are generic in nature and not brand names that patients may be familiar with. Critics noted that offerings were extremely limited compared to traditional pharmacies and even digital services like GoodRx. But Cuban's service is adding new low-cost generic drugs to its roster periodically and have shared they are "continuously" adding new options as they become available.
Per its website, Cost Plus currently stocks over 700 generic drugs made by its network of suppliers, designed to provide treatment for a myriad of chronic conditions — from diabetes to multiple forms of cancer, hypertension and high cholesterol, and even complications stemming from arthritis to allergies. Cost Plus maintains a full list of the conditions they serve as well as a searchable database for generic versions of name-brand medications you may be currently taking.
According to Forbes' initial review of Cuban's medication service, the price points of the prescription drugs sold by Cost Plus were often 10 times less compared to traditional offerings; a particular talking point was the Leukemia treatment drug imatinib, which is usually sold at $9,657 for a month's supply but is available via Cost Plus for just $47 a month.
How is Cost Plus able to offer drugs at these prices? It hinges on the fact that Cuban's pharmaceutical brand doesn't rely on insurance plans and what's known as pharmacy benefit managers to determine a supply chain, and thus, its prices.
An in-depth analysis published by MedPageToday suggests that there may be some drugs that end up costing an individual more from Cost Plus if they have low healthcare insurance deductibles or if they quickly meet these deductibles early in the year. If someone has a chronic illness that requires frequent clinic visits, for example, a low-deductible healthcare plan may begin covering 100% of prescription drug costs soon.
Those who are uninsured will certainly find these medications less costly — as well as patients who have high deductibles that aren't met and rarely use healthcare services, as foregoing paying out insurance deductibles means you'll spend less overall.
How to buy discounted prescriptions at Cost Plus Drugs:
Before you sign up to buy medication from Cost Plus, you should take a look to ensure your prescription is one of the options currently available on the site. If your medication isn't listed, you can submit a request for the brand to consider adding the supplier to their network on the same webpage.
And just as you would with any other prescription provider or pharmacy, you'll need to have your primary healthcare provider fill out a prescription and submit it directly to get started with Cost Plus.
Zee Krstic is a content strategy manager for Hearst Magazines, focusing on SEO optimization and other editorial strategies for four brands, including Country Living, House Beautiful, ELLE Decor and VERANDA. He previously served as Health Editor for Good Housekeeping between 2019 and 2023, covering health news, diet and fitness trends as well as executing wellness product reviews in conjunction with the Good Housekeeping Institute. Prior to joining Hearst, Zee fostered a strong background in women's lifestyle media with eight plus years of editorial experience, including as a site-wide editor at Martha Stewart Living after developing a nutrition background as an assistant editor at Cooking Light. Zee produces service-based health coverage, as well as design and travel content, for Hearst brands on a contributor basis; he has written about food and dining for Time, among other publications.
