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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

#91

Post by renewiltord »

jsnk wrote: post #60

This is just a rant. I want Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, Walmart, all the so called evil multinational corps, billionaires like Cuban, Gates, Musk, Zuckerberg & Co. and the the government to get into American healthcare industry and dismantle the multi trillion dollars racket, change it into something functional and useful for the people. I don't care if it will mean millions of people in the insurance, hospital…

Those companies, especially Amazon; Google; and Apple, are only evil MNCs on HN/Reddit and media (mainstream or otherwise). In the real world, these are America’s most trusted and beloved brands. Brand loyalty is high for all three and if they announce they’re going to make anything, the country as a whole is excited to see what comes of it. Irrespective of whether they listen to Fox or CNN, people know from their lived experience that their search engine is fantastic, their phones are fantastic, their shopping experience is fantastic.

To make it even better, the folks on the street who hear you work there think you are übersmart superstar solving the world’s problems.

There are probably tens of millions of people hoping they do something like what you’re asking for.

Of course, I don’t think it fits in their wheelhouse. We’ll see.

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

#92

Post by lelandfe »

alphabettsy wrote: post #86
s1artibartfast wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They plan to both manufacture and resell. >15% markup plus pharmacy fee plus shipping and handling. This is the intent, and still cuts out at least 2 middle men between consumers and manufacturers: the insurance company and pharmacy benefit managers.

There were already many companies doing this.

Yeah. It seems the difference here is (supposedly) this sentiment:

> "People always ask, well why didn't somebody do this before? The reality is there's so much money there, it's hard not to be greedy," Mr. Cuban said

> "But I won't. I've got enough money. I'd rather f— up the drug industry in every way possible."

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

#93

Post by enjoyyourlife »

AlphaSquared wrote: post #89

The prices for these drugs is ridiculous. My kids vere prescribed Ventolin this winter due smog related illnesses. Looking at price of a Ventolin inhaler (90mcg) even on Cuban's website ( https://costplusdrugs.com/medications/albuterol-90mcg-inhale... ) it costs $43 The same thing costs less than $2 in Pakistan for the Glaxo Smith Kline version. https://www.emeds.pk/ventolin

Are you going to go to Pakistan to buy it?

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

#94

Post by mattnewton »

gruez wrote: post #78
mattnewton wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this metaphor is missing a step - it would be like if you somehow bought "shampoo insurance," and under this policy the insurance company paid for your shampoo needs in exchange for a fixed monthly fee. And since people are buying under their shampoo insurance policies, then one shampoo company starts paying people directly to effectively direct the insurance companies dollars towards their brand. Isn't that…

>Of course, this could lead to a bigger problem, because insurance companies could account for programs like this in rates, and now you have an arms race where your policy only makes cost sense if you are getting these incentive payments. Aren't the two in equilibrium though? The price of the kickback is priced into the MSRP of the drug, and the kickback you get is priced into the cost of the policy. If the kickback…

They are in equilibrium for people buying the product with the kickback. Other brands now are artificially more "expensive" and have to issue kickbacks to remain attractive, or the people who aren't participating just have worse rates because they might accept kickbacks in the future even if they aren't using drugs that offer them today.

My understanding is that your policy funds are effectively "mixed" with other people covered by your insurance company.

So, I think it could very easily be a net transfer of money from people who aren't using that drug category but have insurance policies used by people who do use that drug, to the drug company at the end of the day.

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

#95

Post by adam_arthur »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #83
ALittleLight wrote: post #76

Either I don't understand the phrase "Vertical integration" or Mark Cuban doesn't. Cuban says "We basically created a vertically integrated manufacturing company." But, they don't do manufacturing, because later Cuban says "The manufacturers love what we're doing for that reason". They also apparently don't do the pharmacy aspect because Cuban says his company "charges a $3 pharmacy fee to pay the pharmacists it work…

They plan to both manufacture and resell. >15% markup plus pharmacy fee plus shipping and handling. This is the intent, and still cuts out at least 2 middle men between consumers and manufacturers: the insurance company and pharmacy benefit managers.

Should cut out the doctors for most of these too...

Or at least allow people to continue to renew their medications after prescribed one time, rather than requiring further doctor's visits.

Most things in medicine are expensive due to legal monopolies/improper regulations. e.g. no reason you shouldn't be able to buy prescription glasses for $10-20 dollars off the shelf. The main problem with medical costs is that it's not a free enough market, with sufficient competition.

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

#96

Post by ipaddr »

lelandfe wrote: post #92
alphabettsy wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were already many companies doing this.

Yeah. It seems the difference here is (supposedly) this sentiment: > "People always ask, well why didn't somebody do this before? The reality is there's so much money there, it's hard not to be greedy," Mr. Cuban said > "But I won't. I've got enough money. I'd rather f— up the drug industry in every way possible."

For a person with enough money he seems to work harder than he should to obtain more and more.

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

#98

Post by kQq9oHeAz6wLLS »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #77
gm wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what your point is: It seems you are cherrypicking and then generalizing. For example Duloxetine (generic for Cymbalta) is $4 at CostPlus and $15 at the Walmart link. That in and of itself really does not prove anything either. I may be wrong, though, it's just one additional data point. Maybe you can do the analysis you mention and publish it? The worst that will happen is that all us laypeople will be…

> I think though that CostPlus, if nothing else, has opened the eyes of a great many people who just assumed medicine was like any other product where the manufacturer controls the price Like any other product? There are zero products like that. Manufacturers aren't legally able to control the price even if they propose a contract with a resale price clause. That's why everything has a "manufacturer's suggested retai…

Unless the manufacturer is also the retailer, such as Tesla

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

#99

Post by mindslight »

alphabettsy wrote: post #87
briHass wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm concerned that Mark Cuban is capitalizing on people's lack of understanding about how insurance works and how easy it can be to look up drug prices (use your insurance company's website or just pick up the phone and call your pharmacy, they'll check for you) That certainly hasn't been my experience. Most pharmacies I've tried this with need to actually 'fill' the script and run it through insurance to get a fina…

> The sad thing is, all these pharmacies know about GoodRx and other discount providers. They could stop playing games and just run all scripts through these providers to get a 'cash price', but they don't. They aren’t allowed to contractually. The PBMs and insurance companies make pharmacies sign contracts that forbid them from doing this. They also forbid pharmacies from telling customers if it would be cheaper to…

Prohibiting such anticompetitive cartel behavior is yet another straightforward market reform that could be implemented tomorrow, if our political process weren't merely a game between providers and "insurers".

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

#100

Post by gm »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #77
gm wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what your point is: It seems you are cherrypicking and then generalizing. For example Duloxetine (generic for Cymbalta) is $4 at CostPlus and $15 at the Walmart link. That in and of itself really does not prove anything either. I may be wrong, though, it's just one additional data point. Maybe you can do the analysis you mention and publish it? The worst that will happen is that all us laypeople will be…

> I think though that CostPlus, if nothing else, has opened the eyes of a great many people who just assumed medicine was like any other product where the manufacturer controls the price Like any other product? There are zero products like that. Manufacturers aren't legally able to control the price even if they propose a contract with a resale price clause. That's why everything has a "manufacturer's suggested retai…

I meant the manufacturer controls the price at which they sell. Ie, if drug X costs $15 to make, and the manufacturer chooses to sell it to retailers/distributors at $2000, they are free to do that.
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