{"id":12612,"date":"2024-09-12T11:50:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T11:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=12612"},"modified":"2024-09-12T11:50:48","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T11:50:48","slug":"after-shark-tank-mark-cuban-just-wants-to-break-shit-especially-the-prescription-drug-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=12612","title":{"rendered":"After Shark Tank, Mark Cuban Just Wants to Break Shit\u2014Especially the Prescription Drug Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"


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What do you mean by that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because your insurance company, whoever it may be, uses a PBM, a pharmacy benefit manager. The PBM has negotiated with a pharmacy what the reimbursement rate is. Except they basically said, \u201cHere\u2019s what we\u2019re going to reimburse you.\u201d [His Apple Watch buzzes.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

You can go ahead and check that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s my son. [Speaking into watch<\/em>.] We\u2019ll do a late lunch. Don\u2019t worry about it. Go ahead and have fun. [Back to the interview.<\/em>] He\u2019s playing basketball.<\/p>\n

Nice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, with the PBMs, there\u2019s no negotiation. Particularly for the small independent pharmacies, they take it or leave it. And: \u201cOh, by the way, you are not allowed to say anything about this contract at all.\u201d Period. The number one rule of health care contracts is you don\u2019t talk about health care contracts. So instead of breaking even, the pharmacy might lose $20 to $30 on every brand subscription they\u2019re doing. The idea is, they\u2019ll make it up on toilet paper and other stuff. Well, that doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

And the drug manufacturer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The PBMs also negotiate with the manufacturers, but they lose out as well. They have no idea who is using their medications, what the demographics are, what the adherence is. So the PBM will offer to do analysis for them, and then sell<\/em> the manufacturer access to the data for their own drug.<\/p>\n

Then the trade association for the PBM says, \u201cLook at the bad guys!\u201d It\u2019s so convoluted and opaque.<\/p>\n

[Greg Lopes, a spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a trade group, told WIRED, \u201cPBMs have a proven track record of securing savings on prescription drugs for patients.\u201d He added that drug companies \u201care solely responsible for setting and raising prescription drug prices.\u201d]<\/p>\n

OK, so you saw how these entities bought up drugs and controlled the market. Why didn\u2019t you, a billionaire, take that approach with other drugs? Why didn\u2019t you say, I\u2019m going to buy all the insulin in America?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, we looked at manufacturing insulin. We developed our own glargine [synthetic] insulin, and I spent $5 million or more, I don\u2019t even know. But that was right when Biden made sure Medicare plans were covering insulin for up to a $35 copay. So it made no sense to do it at that point.<\/p>\n

You told Texas Monthly that you don\u2019t care if you don\u2019t make a fortune off of this. Is that still true?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to make it so it\u2019s self-sustained. I don\u2019t want to subsidize it the whole time. But I don\u2019t need to make money.<\/p>\n

Do you see Cost Plus Drugs as altruistic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. I see it as fun with a huge impact. Altruism is like, \u201cGreat, I feel good because I\u2019m helping people. I gave money and da-da-da-da-da<\/em>.\u201d Disrupting an industry that everybody hates, that\u2019s fun.<\/em> I\u2019m getting emails and letters, if not every week, every two weeks, saying, \u201cOh my God, my grandma\u2019s alive.\u201d I just got a note from someone who wrote, \u201cYou saved me $15,000 a year on my cancer medication. I would be dead if it weren\u2019t for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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