The costs of medications continue to rise and we continue to shell out hundreds of dollars for something that should cost close to nothing. Between the sheer amount of hoops and economy-this-economy-that, those who want to make medications as accessible as possible have had their hands tied.
While insulin costs around $10 a vial to make, it can go for around $300. Some diabetes patients could need six vials a month, meaning they could be looking to spend $1800 monthly on Insulin alone.
And for those who are uninsured, medication prices can be astronomical. Medication appears to be on a market-based pricing system, meaning, based on demand, medication could rise in price just because.
This is entirely unfair to someone who needs insulin to survive, but may not be able to afford the proper dosage due to market pricing. Not only is this the case for the millions of diabetic Americans who need insulin, but also for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
Billionaire and entrepreneur, Mark Cuban, started a company to wage war with Big Pharma and their steep pricing. In the six months it’s been public, Cost Plus Drug Company has become a savior for many people in the United States.
No, It’s Not Too Good To Be True
The first thing I thought when hearing about Cost Plus Drugs is that it had to have a catch. There is no way that it was simply that easy to not charge an arm and a leg for generic prescription medications – but it turns out it is.
In the short amount of time that Cost Plus Drugs has existed, it’s provided hundreds of medications for some of the lowest prices the pharmaceutical market has seen. There is accessibility for everyone, regardless of your diagnosis - they provide generic drugs for diabetes, cancer, depression, anxiety, birth control and more.
At your local pharmacy, Actos - a drug prescribed for diabetics - could go for around $75, but with Cost Plus Drugs, you can get it starting at $7. Mental health medications like Wellbutrin are also going at a lower rate than you would normally pay.
While he may be a billionaire, Mark Cuban just gets it – we shouldn’t have to pay to save our lives or choose between paying rent and getting medication.
Another aspect that makes Cost Plus Drugs trustworthy is that they’re completely transparent about their pricing methods. In their mission statement, they announce that all drugs are priced at the cost it takes to make the medication, plus 15%, plus a pharmacy fee.
Another way Cost Plus Drugs is able to keep their prices low is by relying on completely word of mouth advertising.
They made the decision to forego marketing completely because they didn’t want to have to charge more money for products than absolutely needed. Instead, Mark Cuban is working to pass this information along on social media and hoping other platforms can do the same.
Cuban created Cost Plus Drugs in order to disrupt the drug industry one drug at a time. If he can get more and more medications signed on through his service, the pharmaceutical industry will have true competition and force Big Pharma to lower prices.
The Future Looks Promising
We can only hope that Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs company creates a domino effect and incentivizes others to follow suit. In their mission statement, the company reveals that they started the company in order to try and help disadvantaged populations who normally are neglected by pharmaceutical companies:
“Our goal is to dramatically reduce the cost of drugs like Albendazole, but we also think that it is just as important to introduce transparency to the pricing of drugs so patients know they are getting a fair price.”
It is incredibly important that there is someone advocating for a more cost-effective healthcare market. With medication being shipped right to your door, it’s worth checking out to see if they carry your prescriptions as well.
