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\n<\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban thinks America\u2019s healthcare industry is broken, and he\u2019s not mincing words about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one looks at the financial side of healthcare and says, \u2018This is the way it should work,\u2019\u201d Cuban said on this week\u2019s episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/podcasts\/equity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Equity<\/a> podcast. \u201cWhen you go to the doctor and you get a prescription . . . you have no idea what the cost to you is going to be. You don\u2019t know if you can afford it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former \u201cShark Tank\u201d host and minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team explained the root of the problem: Most drug prices today are set by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), or third parties that manage prescription drug programs. Cuban said drug prices are opaque by design.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s exactly why he launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.costplusdrugs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Cost Plus Drugs<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2022\/01\/24\/mark-cuban-cost-plus-pharmacy-lower-prices-reduce-stress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2022<\/a> \u2014 to pull back the curtain on drug pricing, bring down costs to the average consumer, and disrupt the traditional pharmacy industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey price to market; we price based off of cost,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The difference is shocking. For example, a generic chemotherapy drug might cost thousands over the counter at a pharmacy, whereas it might cost \u201c$21 from Cost Plus Drugs,\u201d Cuban said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cuban\u2019s approach is vastly different from how drugs are traditionally priced in the U.S. As its name suggests, Cost Plus Drugs sells meds directly to consumers at a transparent price \u2014 the manufacturer\u2019s cost, plus a 15% markup, plus a $5 pharmacy fee, plus shipping.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-techcrunch-inline-cta\">\n<div class=\"inline-cta__wrapper\">\n<p>Techcrunch event<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-cta__content\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"inline-cta__location\">San Francisco<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"inline-cta__separator\">|<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"inline-cta__date\">October 27-29, 2025<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd we\u2019re adding the ability to pick it up in a local pharmacy,\u201d Cuban added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To understand why Cuban\u2019s model is disruptive, it helps to know why drugs cost so much in the first place. The industry has defended its practice of overcharging for medication in the U.S. \u2014 which is one of the only high-income countries whose government doesn\u2019t set or negotiate drug prices \u2014 by arguing that without the incentive of high profits, companies couldn\u2019t invest the billions of dollars needed to bring new drugs to market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But critics argue that prices are set to maximize profit and aren\u2019t directly tied to R&D costs. One <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/addressing-the-trade-off-between-lower-drug-prices-and-incentives-for-pharmaceutical-innovation\/#:~:text=The%20fundamental%20dilemma%20in%20prescription,3.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">2021 study<\/a> found that revenue from the top 20 best-selling drugs alone was enough for companies to wring a return from their R&D costs with billions left over.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cuban also pointed out another reason that drug prices skyrocket in the U.S.: artificial shortages. \u201cBelieve it or not, in this day and age, there are things like pediatric cancer drugs, Pitocin, sterile water, [and] this long list of drugs I can\u2019t even pronounce right, that go in short supply because the manufacturers want them to go in short supply, because that\u2019s how they jack up the price,\u201d Cuban said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there\u2019s limited direct evidence of intentional profiteering, it is true that <a href=\"https:\/\/aspe.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/87781bc7f9a7fc3e6633199dc4507d3e\/aspe-rtc-costs-drug-shortages.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">during shortages<\/a>, prices <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2024\/04\/a-proven-model-to-combat-u-s-drug-shortages?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">rise significantly<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His answer? Build his own factory. Cuban has a manufacturing plant in Dallas that\u2019s \u201call robotics driven.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe created this factory where we can turn over a new drug in four hours and ship it out to hospitals,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd so we\u2019re starting to attack those shortages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While shipping drugs to patients has razor-thin margins, other aspects of Cost Plus Drugs, like drug manufacturing, are more profitable and help the business work toward profitability. Manufacturing is also another way to challenge the drug supply chain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Cuban\u2019s strategy goes beyond just offering cheaper drugs \u2014 he says he\u2019s refusing to play by the rules entirely. \u201cEverybody was saying . . . you can\u2019t fight these big companies, the insurance carriers, the PBMs,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Well, I just won\u2019t work with them. I\u2019m not going to work the way they want to do it, because that\u2019s not what\u2019s best aligned for patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even Amazon, Cuban noted, fell into this trap. The tech giant has partnered with PBMs through Amazon Pharmacy, but that puts the big tech firm at a disadvantage because it\u2019s still \u201cbeholden to PBMs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His advice to founders trying to take down incumbents?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t be dependent on them,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause if I were 25 and starting this business, I probably would work through the pharmacy benefit managers because that\u2019s where the money is. All of healthcare is basically an arbitrage. How can I just get a small percentage of a $5 trillion market through technology, pricing, whatever it may be?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I started out, somebody told me this: \u2018When you run with the elephants, there\u2019s the quick and the dead,\u2019\u201d Cuban said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be quick, or you\u2019re going to be dead, and so you\u2019ve got to be lean, mean. You\u2019ve got to be able to adapt. You\u2019ve got to be able to zig and zag and always look for ways to just do better, because it\u2019s the whole Innovator\u2019s Dilemma thing for [the incumbents], right? They\u2019ve got to protect their legacy businesses, but they can\u2019t move as quickly. They can\u2019t react as quickly, and so that\u2019s always going to give the founder an edge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/08\/28\/mark-cubans-war-on-americas-5-trillion-healthcare-machine-they-cant-react-as-quickly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban thinks America\u2019s healthcare industry is broken, and he\u2019s not mincing words about it. \u201cNo one looks at the financial side of healthcare and says, \u2018This is the way it should work,\u2019\u201d Cuban said on this week\u2019s episode of the Equity podcast. \u201cWhen you go to the doctor and you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-189606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tech"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}