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Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

beckershospitalreview.com

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Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#21

Post by ctoth »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #19
ctoth wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In 2020, 8.6 percent of people, or 28.0 million, did not have health insurance at any point during the year[0]. [0]: https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-27... .

Sure, but the example I highlighted didn't include insurance at all. Still half the price at Walmart. Nobody seems to be even checking the basic facts on this story. Everyone is so eager to dismiss anything insurance-related that they'll take all of the talking points at face value.

> Except nobody should actually be paying $22.80 for generic Prozac. You can drive to any local Walmart and get it for $4 and they will bill your insurance, which will count toward your deductible.

Also there's a ton of stuff that I can buy for $5 at the store and get shipped to me for $10 (I don't own a car so am very aware of this sort of thing), so I'm not sure what the general complaint is here.

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#22

Post by indymike »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #7

On one hand, we should obviously applaud anyone doing anything to bring down drug prices. On the other hand, I'm increasingly uncomfortable with just how much free marketing and PR is being applied to the "Mark Cuban Pharmacy" without much critical examination of what's going on here. Taking one of the examples straight from their homepage: They will sell you 30 Prozac tablets for $3.90: https://costplusdrugs.com/med…

> Except nobody should actually be paying $22.80 for generic Prozac. You can drive to any local Walmart and get it for $4 and they will bill your insurance, which will count toward your deductible.

Except people can, and do, all the time. Source: they lady in front of me at the pharmacy counter today, who didn't want any "risky generics".

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#23

Post by dopylitty »

moralestapia wrote: post #6

"I could make a fortune from this," Mr. Cuban told Texas Monthly last fall. "But I won't. I've got enough money. I'd rather f— up the drug industry in every way possible." Truly hope that's an honest statement, wish them the best if that's the case.

Even if it’s an honest statement, what happens when Cuban dies or otherwise no longer controls the business? Inevitably someone will take control and raise prices to match the rest of the industry.

The root problem is having for profit companies involved in providing critical medical treatments. The solution is for people to band together and create an entity (the government) to provide these treatments at cost without the incredible inefficiency of for profit business.

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#24

Post by woodruffw »

jtchang wrote: post #15
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #7

On one hand, we should obviously applaud anyone doing anything to bring down drug prices. On the other hand, I'm increasingly uncomfortable with just how much free marketing and PR is being applied to the "Mark Cuban Pharmacy" without much critical examination of what's going on here. Taking one of the examples straight from their homepage: They will sell you 30 Prozac tablets for $3.90: https://costplusdrugs.com/med…

The point is that I have to drive to a local walmart and deal with insurance. That sounds harder.

I don't know about other insurance plans, but mine is virtually contact-free: my doctor prescribes me something, and I pick it up at a nearby pharmacy within an hour. The billing is taken care of for me, and I don't hear a peep from the insurance company other than a line item on their monthly letter.

OTOH, this seems like a blessing for the un[der]insured. But I took OP's comment to be one of critical optimism, not an attack on the company itself.

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#25

Post by PragmaticPulp »

jimt1234 wrote: post #13

I worked for a PBM back in the 90s. The company, and the whole industry, was/is shady AF. I remember once when I was volun-told to work for new program that handled "rebates". They needed a nerd to support the servers/databases. There was a presentation explaining the program and how it worked. At the conclusion, I asked, "So, this is a kick-back?", and the room went silent. "No, it's not a kick-back. It's a rebate."…

I deplore the medication rebate racket as much as anyone, but it's not a kick-back.

A kick-back would go to the doctor or pharmacist for pushing the customer toward a medication. The problem in this scenario is the monetary incentive to mislead the customer.

With medication rebates, the customer is getting the drug one way or another. The rebate just discounts the effective price and sends the discount to the customer. The only party not aligned is the insurance companies (who, IMO, probably hate this system more than anyone)

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#26

Post by PragmaticPulp »

ctoth wrote: post #21
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but the example I highlighted didn't include insurance at all. Still half the price at Walmart. Nobody seems to be even checking the basic facts on this story. Everyone is so eager to dismiss anything insurance-related that they'll take all of the talking points at face value.

> Except nobody should actually be paying $22.80 for generic Prozac. You can drive to any local Walmart and get it for $4 and they will bill your insurance, which will count toward your deductible. Also there's a ton of stuff that I can buy for $5 at the store and get shipped to me for $10 (I don't own a car so am very aware of this sort of thing), so I'm not sure what the general complaint is here.

Continue reading to the part where the same medication is $8.80 from Mark Cuban's pharmacy.

The price at Walmart is less than half, regardless of whether or not insurance is involved. The deal is worse for the consumer whether or not insurance is involved.

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#27

Post by Dylan16807 »

refurb wrote: post #16
jeromegv wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you aware millions of Americans don’t have such insurance?

But as to the OP’s point, Mark’s pharmacy is still more expensive for those drugs .

Needing to have it shipped is not a simple "more expensive".

Going to a store costs money. It also costs time. It's pretty easy for that to hit $5.

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#28

Post by PragmaticPulp »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #27
refurb wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But as to the OP’s point, Mark’s pharmacy is still more expensive for those drugs .

Needing to have it shipped is not a simple "more expensive". Going to a store costs money. It also costs time. It's pretty easy for that to hit $5.

> Going to a store costs money. It also costs time. It's pretty easy for that to hit $5.

People need groceries. They're going to the store anyway.

If you can wait for a mail-order prescription to arrive, you can probably wait until your next grocery shopping trip to get it filled in person.

Re: Mark Cuban's pharmacy started with a cold email

#30

Post by fencepost »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #7

On one hand, we should obviously applaud anyone doing anything to bring down drug prices. On the other hand, I'm increasingly uncomfortable with just how much free marketing and PR is being applied to the "Mark Cuban Pharmacy" without much critical examination of what's going on here. Taking one of the examples straight from their homepage: They will sell you 30 Prozac tablets for $3.90: https://costplusdrugs.com/med…

Following on from this discussion of Walmart's discount drugs, most or all of the pharmacy chains have similar programs, though it's possible that CVS or Walgreens (or both?) require being a member of a paid discount program.

IIRC Meijer does free antibiotics and some maternal health stuff, Costco just generally has pretty low prices that are published, Walmart is linked in the parent, Kroger has a variety of free/$3/$6 medications in some kind of association with GoodRX, I didn't see anything for Albertson's on a quick search but there may be one.

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