Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

costplusdrugs.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 191 posts

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#101

Post by sct202 »

WaitWaitWha wrote: post #52
sct202 wrote: post #19

There's a $5 shipping fee that isn't included until check out, so for a lot of cheap drugs it's still cheaper to go thru GoodRX/Walmart/other discount programs.

Are you looking at the right place? I clicked on the medication's link (just for lookup), and it took me to a page which listed Manufacturing, 15% Markup, Pharmacy Labor and in a circled blue box: "* additional cost at checkout Shipping $5.00".

That's what I mean, the list price in the big box is just the mfg, markup and labor. You have to add on $5 to the 'Transparent Pricing' that they put in the giant box in the center of the page, you only see that there is an additional shipping fee if you click thru the little slider or submit an order.

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#103

Post by user_7832 »

treis wrote: post #53

From the time this was posted two days ago: This keeps showing up but it's total bullshit. Cuban wants to take 15% of the transaction for running a web site and processing payment. They're not manufacturing drugs. They're not buying drugs. They're not shipping drugs. They're not doing anything at all besides taking your order and giving it to someone to do all those things. It's not a charity. It's a profitable busin…

I'm pretty sure you're free to compete with them if you think it's profitable.

In reality I'd expect that 15% to be necessary if they want the company to survive after some years. There are tons of not so visible overheads and costs, and it (apparently) has taken a billionaire to be able to start such a company (disclaimer: I have no idea what GoodRx is).

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#104

Post by maerF0x0 »

specialp wrote: post #89
arcticbull wrote: post #48

As always the issue with privatized social services is that the goal is to make money, not to provide a service so the incentives are fundamentally misaligned. For-profit care providers make money when the fail to provide care. When they fail to cover procedures. When they can substitute lower-quality or less effective goods and services. When they can sell you catastrophic cover with deductibles and co-pays too high…

One thing lost on people is the "for-profit" motive is not solely with insurers or plan providers. Medical practitioners in my experience are extremely motivated to provide as many services as the insurer will pay for regardless of how medically useful they are. This results in often legitimate procedures being denied. But make no mistake, the care providers billing insurance are just as likely or more likely to try…

> Medical practitioners in my experience are extremely motivated to provide as many services as the insurer will pay for regardless of how medically useful they are.

I've personally found this particularly common and suspect within the Dental industry.

https://health.sunnybrook.ca/navigator/too-many-dental-x-ray...

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#105

Post by pc86 »

arcticbull wrote: post #64
an9n wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's hope you make a better fist of it than the UK - the NHS is currently unreformable to any significant degree, due to it being weaponised by the left.

UK per capita health expenditure: $4650USD (#17). US per capita health expenditure: $11000USD (#1). I don't know what the 'left' is doing there but it seems very efficient.

Don't get me wrong, I think claiming the NHS has been "weaponized by the left" is idiotic, but I don't see how PC expenditures support or refute that point?

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#106

Post by bmelton »

criddell wrote: post #86
treis wrote: post #53

From the time this was posted two days ago: This keeps showing up but it's total bullshit. Cuban wants to take 15% of the transaction for running a web site and processing payment. They're not manufacturing drugs. They're not buying drugs. They're not shipping drugs. They're not doing anything at all besides taking your order and giving it to someone to do all those things. It's not a charity. It's a profitable busin…

How does GoodRX work?

They're a deal site, basically

You need in

They search pharmacy prices in for +

You get back a list of where it is cheapest to have fulfilled by a pharmacy in

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#107

Post by maerF0x0 »

bgia wrote: post #79
baby_wipe wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If for-profit companies keep doing all these awful things, why people keep paying them money?

Because their lives depend on it? Why do people keep paying ransoms? Does it mean that ransoming them is a good thing?

But the point was that they're doing things that either are unneeded or not effective.

If either of those are true, their lives do not depend on those procedures.

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#109

Post by scythe »

baby_wipe wrote: post #71
arcticbull wrote: post #48

As always the issue with privatized social services is that the goal is to make money, not to provide a service so the incentives are fundamentally misaligned. For-profit care providers make money when the fail to provide care. When they fail to cover procedures. When they can substitute lower-quality or less effective goods and services. When they can sell you catastrophic cover with deductibles and co-pays too high…

If for-profit companies keep doing all these awful things, why people keep paying them money?

> If for-profit companies keep doing all these awful things, why people keep paying them money?

Healthcare privacy laws make it extremely difficult to evaluate the value proposition of care providers. You can't just, like, look up a list of their previous patients' medical histories.

Re: Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs

#110

Post by pc86 »

0des wrote: post #59
treis wrote: post #53

From the time this was posted two days ago: This keeps showing up but it's total bullshit. Cuban wants to take 15% of the transaction for running a web site and processing payment. They're not manufacturing drugs. They're not buying drugs. They're not shipping drugs. They're not doing anything at all besides taking your order and giving it to someone to do all those things. It's not a charity. It's a profitable busin…

I mean if you're old enough to remember broadcast.com I don't think anybody had high expectations.

It seems to have worked out for him.
Post reply on HN