Posted on July 14, 2022 by Larry Johnson
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Posted on July 14, 2022 by Larry Johnson
How the Mark Cuban Online Pharmacy Could Save Medicare Billions of Dollars
Even if you can’t use the Mark Cuban online pharmacy, you can still save money on your medications with a Medicare Advantage and Part D plan. Call our experienced, licensed agents today at (800) 950-0608 to learn more about Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban is probably best known to many of you for his role on TV’s Shark Tank. Some of you may also know him as the energetic owner of the Dallas Mavericks. What you may not know, however, is that he’s trying to make it much easier for you to get prescription medications at affordable prices.
Cuban, who is quickly gaining a reputation for his philanthropy, recently opened an online pharmacy, known as the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. Mark Cuban pharmacy drugs offered on the website are sold at true cost with no markup as a result of direct negotiation. As a result, you pay less for your medications through the Mark Cuban pharmacy website than you would at a traditional pharmacy.
The benefits of the Mark Cuban drug company to the regular consumer are plentiful, but what could it do for Medicare? Recent studies have shown that the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company model could save the Medicare program billions of dollars by purchasing medications directly from them. Considering those astronomical savings, it would make perfect sense for Medicare to take Cuban up on his offer of assistance.
How, exactly, could the Mark Cuban online pharmacy save Medicare billions of dollars in pharmaceutical purchases? Let’s find out.
The biggest way that the Mark Cuban pharmacy website keeps drug prices down for the average consumer is through the power of negotiation. The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company cuts out the middleman and goes straight to pharmaceutical manufacturers to negotiate affordable prescription drug prices. By contrast, the federal Medicare program does not have that same power of negotiation. Thus, they are forced to purchase medications at costs stipulated by drug companies.
Interestingly enough, the topic of Medicare’s ability to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of Medicare Part D beneficiaries has been something of a hot topic issue in recent months. Currently, federal law prohibits Medicare from negotiating on behalf of enrollees, but there has been some executive support to make a change to this legislation; most notably, from President Biden himself.
Since the Mark Cuban drug company opened for business earlier this year, Mark Cuban has been trying to discuss with lawmakers the possibility of joining forces to make certain medications more affordable for Medicare beneficiaries. His recent efforts have included calling on specific heads of government to read a recent independent study showing how his pharmacy could help save the government billions of dollars in Medicare spending. As of this writing, Mr. Cuban has yet to hear from elected officials.
A recent independent study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School showed that, by adopting negotiation policies similar to those of the Mark Cuban online pharmacy, Medicare’s drug program could have saved up to $3.6 billion in 2020. This very same study showed that, using current protocol, Medicare is estimated to have overpaid for 77 generic medications.
The Brigham/HMS study showed that Medicare spent $8.1 billion for a total of 89 prescription drugs in 2020. They compared Medicare’s spending with that of the Mark Cuban pharmacy website, which showed that Medicare would have only spent $4.5 billion on those same medications by using the purchasing protocol that Cuban’s company uses, as twelve of the same medications offered no savings. As a result, Medicare could have cut 37 percent of its $9.6 billion overall budget for pharmaceutical purchases.
While nearly $4 billion worth of savings sounds astronomical, researchers stated that this estimate was on the conservative side. Their estimates were based on the Mark Cuban online pharmacy choosing the most expensive option of each drug for comparison. This denotes that Medicare’s savings could have been much greater.
While the Mark Cuban online pharmacy offers extensive savings, Medicare beneficiaries unfortunately cannot save extra on their medications through the company. As of this writing, the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company does not accept insurance as payment. This means that you cannot use your Medicare Part D Prescription Drug coverage to purchase prescription drugs through the Mark Cuban pharmacy website.
However, a qualifying Medicare Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage/Part D combined plan, can certainly help you save plenty of money at other pharmacies when purchasing your medication. If you qualify for, but currently are not enrolled in, a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, there’s no better day to start comparing plans than today! Just enter your zip code into our free comparison tool below to find and compare Medicare plans in your area.
While the federal government seems slightly hesitant to work with Mr. Cuban and his online pharmacy at the moment, no one knows for sure what the future holds. If CMS and the federal government see potential benefits in working with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, there’s always a possibility that the parties could link up in an effort to bring you extra savings on your prescription drugs. With further research, CMS may just see utilizing the Mark Cuban pharmacy drugs program as beneficial for all.
Until CMS chooses to work with the Mark Cuban pharmacy drugs program, you still have an opportunity to save on prescriptions with a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug coverage plan. Get in touch with us today, and one of our experienced, licensed agents can help you learn more about the benefits of a Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.
Larry Johnson
Larry is a content writer with several years of experience in creating informative content for a variety of industries on topics that matter. He is a 2009 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.