Mark Cuban
Photo: Mark Cuban Companies website
EVENT – During a fireside chat on Tuesday, Mark Cuban sat down with Scripta Insights cofounder and CEO Eric Levin to discuss what the creation of TrumpRx signals for the pharma industry, Cash Pay options for self-insured employers and new innovations being developed by Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company.
TrumpRx
"It's about getting the best price possible to sponsors and patients, and I think right now, the biggest challenge to implement is educating CEOs about how this whole thing works," Cuban said.
"The challenge is making them understand that there are alternatives."
Cuban said that with Cash Pay options, such as Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, companies can save money, but the ultimate goal is to lower prices.
The entrepreneur said that TrumpRx is "kind of a portal for best prices," and that pharma giants like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk want their best prices posted on TrumpRx.
"[MCCPDC has] an API that has our entire price list. It's updated every day. We'll give that to them, and they get to post all of our prices," Cuban said.
"They won't actually fulfill anything or process anything; they'll send that back to whoever Lilly's using, whoever Pfizer is using, or to us to process it. And I think the impact of that is analogous to the impact of cost plus drugs."
Cuban said, therefore, the most significant impact MCCPDC had when it published its price list was that every benefits pharmacy manager could look at MCCPDC's price list and compare it to the prices they were paid if they were able to determine what their net after rebate or net after fees pricing is.
"We have thousands of drugs; presumably, TrumpRx will have even more. And so that will create confusion when a beneficiary can look at a price and say, 'Why am I paying more in my deductible phase from the plan than just looking it up on TrumpRx or Cost Plus Drugs?'"
Cuban says MCCPDC does not have a single contract that requires exclusivity because the company "wants people to get the best medications at the best price."
Additionally, Cuban said the company will begin manufacturing tablets in the U.S., and he anticipates that in 12 to 18 months, MCCPDC patrons will see a red, white and blue flag on the company's price list showing the drug is made in the U.S.
"Because we use AI and robotics, we think we will be able to manufacture a lot of single-molecule tablets," Cuban said.
"We think we can get the price the same or cheaper because of the Delta in shipping costs. And so we're trying to control our own destiny all the way through and be vertically integrated and be the low-cost provider in all cases."
New innovations from MCCPDC
Additionally, Cuban said the company is devising new offerings to expand its reach, help more patients, and reduce costs for both self-insured employers and patients.
He said the company is developing pods and, hopefully, two years from now, it can put all of its manufacturing in "tractor trailers" that can be moved anywhere.
"We can put all of our manufacturing in this trailer, and take it anywhere there is an emergency, a disaster and manufacture everything, and we're expanding it so that we can also make N-of-1 drugs," Cuban said.
N-of-1 drugs are custom-made treatments for a single individual, often used for personalized medicine.
"We'll put it outside research centers, so that if they have a child that they are trying to, you know, have a genetic response to their needs, the hospital, instead of spending a half a million dollars and waiting two months, can spend $50,000 and wait two hours and see if it works on the child, modify it and then we can make it again, all in the parking lot," Cuban said.
Cuban also highlighted another project MCCPDC is working on called Cost Plus Wellness, which he says is in the alpha/beta stage.
The company has contracted directly with over 9,000 providers, he said, to offer employers a plan with direct access to healthcare providers, no deductible and no prior authorization required.
"They have no deductible because we've been able to negotiate a price that, for the biggest thing, saves us more than the deductible. If they go outside this Cost Plus Wellness group of providers, there is a deductible," Cuban said, though he states that the deductible may be negotiable.
"The reason I say all this is that there is an opportunity for all employers to go to costpluswellness.com because not only do we show the providers, but we are actually publishing the contracts. Now, it's still in its infancy, like I said, it is still in beta, so don't expect a lot," Cuban said.
He stated that MCCPDC hopes to create a provider network where all contracts are published and, hopefully, even have a standardized contract.
Cuban said MCCPDC is working on this offering because if self-insured employers want to get away from insurance companies, the hardest part is putting together the network.
"Employers will be able to say, 'Look, I can use these contracts. I just have to see if it fits where my employee base is.' And what we're working on is trying to work with different groups ... where we can put together a network of providers where they will accept these contracts, accept these terms, and then any employer can use it," Cuban said.
"And then, where they have employees that we do not have providers, they can go to whatever insurance company and get a wraparound network for $18 per member per month. That's the path we're trying to push these things towards."
