Cuban, not Congress, to give us cheaper drugs?

[kadee79]

Sounds good to me, hope many can take advantage of it....

When universal health care fails to pass in Congress, there’s always Mark Cuban to fall back on. The billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner launched an online pharmacy this week in order to combat the price gouging of prescription drugs by large pharmaceutical companies.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. (MCCPDC) will offer more than 100 generic drugs that will be purchased directly from the manufacturers and sold online with a 15 percent markup across the board and a small pharmacist fee. For context, pharmaceutical companies generally mark prices up at least 100 percent and up to 1000 percent in some cases.

One example of how significant the difference Cuban is making with this new pharmacy can be found in the price of the drug imatinib, which is used to treat leukemia. The retail price is over $9,000 per month. The voucher price is $120. And the MCCPDC price — $47 a month. While not all of the markdowns will come at a rate quite this staggering — for instance, a common cholesterol medication that goes for $55 will be sold on Cuban’s site for under $4 — it’s still undoubtedly making a difference for American customers.

He told Forbes last year, when he originally became involved in the creation of a low-cost drug company, that he wanted to ​​“show capitalism can be compassionate.” To rely on the compassion of the insanely wealthy is perhaps not the most stable economic system one could imagine, particularly when these sorts of events are noteworthy rather than a common occurrence. But if there’s no regulation to pharmaceutical price hiking, Cuban is all we’ve got.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/its-quite-a-country-when-mark-cuban-not-congress-will-give-americans-cheaper-prescription-drugs/ar-AAT2KJ3?ocid=msedgdhp&li=BBnb7Kz

[wvugurl26]

The pharmaceutical lobby is so powerful. By cutting out all the middlemen, his prices are cheaper. Cut out all those pharmacy benefit managers and see what your prices are. Several states have lawsuits against their "spread" pricing for their Medicaid programs.

[Opti]

Jan 22, 2022 19:33:26 GMT -5 kadee79 said:

Sounds good to me, hope many can take advantage of it....

When universal health care fails to pass in Congress, there’s always Mark Cuban to fall back on. The billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner launched an online pharmacy this week in order to combat the price gouging of prescription drugs by large pharmaceutical companies.

The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. (MCCPDC) will offer more than 100 generic drugs that will be purchased directly from the manufacturers and sold online with a 15 percent markup across the board and a small pharmacist fee. For context, pharmaceutical companies generally mark prices up at least 100 percent and up to 1000 percent in some cases.

One example of how significant the difference Cuban is making with this new pharmacy can be found in the price of the drug imatinib, which is used to treat leukemia. The retail price is over $9,000 per month. The voucher price is $120. And the MCCPDC price — $47 a month. While not all of the markdowns will come at a rate quite this staggering — for instance, a common cholesterol medication that goes for $55 will be sold on Cuban’s site for under $4 — it’s still undoubtedly making a difference for American customers.

He told Forbes last year, when he originally became involved in the creation of a low-cost drug company, that he wanted to ​​“show capitalism can be compassionate.” To rely on the compassion of the insanely wealthy is perhaps not the most stable economic system one could imagine, particularly when these sorts of events are noteworthy rather than a common occurrence. But if there’s no regulation to pharmaceutical price hiking, Cuban is all we’ve got.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/its-quite-a-country-when-mark-cuban-not-congress-will-give-americans-cheaper-prescription-drugs/ar-AAT2KJ3?ocid=msedgdhp&li=BBnb7Kz

I hope it ends up being helpful. New drugs are granted periods where no generics can exist. They often come out with new formulations to extend the patent and to also combat side effects or requested formulations. Think time release, various strengths etc.

Maybe he can sell the yearly pill book at a discount too, including pics of his manufactured generics.

[justme]

Some of the prices are similar to what Amazon has. Some a little cheaper. A few aren't cheaper than my plan - but that's just some more expensive brands so the 90 day generic price is a lot more than my copay.

I didn't go through enough on what the shipping is if you order more than one rx.

[Artemis Windsong]

costplusdrugs.com is the website. I haven't checked it out.

[thyme4change]

My prescription was around 20 bucks for three months, but I filled it last week and it was 80. It is a different manufacturer, so I figured I should find a pharmacy that was still using the other company to supply this generic. I looked on GoodRX and it seems Costco would bring me back down to the range i was paying before.. This website is showing the "new" pills for $8/month. So, it doesn't seem to be a supply chain issue or whatever - CVS just hiked their prices. 😒

[jerseygirl]

Don’t really know how Cubans ‘drug’ company will work. It’s just buying drugs from company that manufactures drug . Around 80% of drugs used by people are generics already and generics are usually pretty cheap.

Mostly it’s the newly approved brand name drugs that are expensive. If Cuban buys these brand name drugs from manufacturers he’ll need to pay the manufacturer price - unless he’s buying at the manufacturer price then discounting on his site ??

[wvugurl26]

Cutting out the middle man can save a ton of money even on generics. The pharmacy benefit managers add a ton of costs to the equation for end consumers.

Kaiser saves a money by doing this very same thing even for brand drugs. They get even the pricey hepatitis cure drugs at half the going rate.

[Mardi Gras Audrey]

Jan 24, 2022 9:26:34 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

My prescription was around 20 bucks for three months, but I filled it last week and it was 80. It is a different manufacturer, so I figured I should find a pharmacy that was still using the other company to supply this generic. I looked on GoodRX and it seems Costco would bring me back down to the range i was paying before.. This website is showing the "new" pills for $8/month. So, it doesn't seem to be a supply chain issue or whatever - CVS just hiked their prices. 😒

Are you using your insurance or are you paying cash? Remember, we are in January, so if using your insurance, you may need to meet a new deductible, where the $20 price was last year?

It is possible Cvs changed their pricing but not as likely, especially if you are using insurance. When using the insurance, the insurance company tells the pharmacy what your “copay/price” is. That it s different than a cash price without insurance. Good rx and other discount cards act kind of like insurance, where they you the negotiated rate without paying any portion(and take some off the top).

Also, if using insurance, is Cvs still in network/preferred provider? If not, the insurance company may have changed the cost share to get you to move to the preferred pharmacy

[justme]

Jan 24, 2022 21:11:38 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Don’t really know how Cubans ‘drug’ company will work. It’s just buying drugs from company that manufactures drug . Around 80% of drugs used by people are generics already and generics are usually pretty cheap.

Mostly it’s the newly approved brand name drugs that are expensive. If Cuban buys these brand name drugs from manufacturers he’ll need to pay the manufacturer price - unless he’s buying at the manufacturer price then discounting on his site ??

Did you read the article? The company caps the markup at 15% over the price they get direct from manufacturers plus $3 pharmacy fee. There's no cap on markups for generic. There's absolutely nothing stopping whatever company that manages your prescription plan to go "well we got that generic for $10/month so let's charge them $50 because the name brand is $100 so they'll think they're getting a great deal". Which is pretty much exactly what perception plan middle men are doing - they're not managing the plans for free. It's not the only reason why prescription costs are insane in the US but it's a big one.

[djAdvocate]

again i ask:

why should we pay a private, for profit corporation to manage our basic healthcare?

that is NOT how other countries do it.

[hurley1980]

Jan 25, 2022 1:12:15 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

again i ask:

why should we pay a private, for profit corporation to manage our basic healthcare?

that is NOT how other countries do it.

Because "MURICA!!!!!"

We are better than other countries BECAUSE we don't do what they do.  Even if what we do is actually worse!

[Spellbound454]

We don't really have big pharma........ and with a Healthcare system that needs to be value for money, we get most of our generic drugs from the huge chemical plants in India.

..... but in India, it should be noted that they don't grant patents for foreign pharmaceuticals (for their R & D ).. with the reasoning that medicine must be affordable for the poor.
They don't have Universal Healthcare ..... and people must pay for their own drugs.

Can see their point actually. People have to have access to medicine and India has a large population.

www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2013/04/08/indias-solution-to-drug-costs-ignore-patents-and-control-prices-except-for-home-grown-drugs/?sh=79239cc92cba