Billionaire and investor Mark Cuban says nothing motivates him more than taking on the U.S. healthcare system.
“I’m in a very unique situation,” he said in a recent PBS interview. “My next dollar’s not going to change my life and there’s nothing more that gets me more excited in the morning, after my family, than coming in and wanting to f*** up the entire healthcare industry because it certainly needs it.”
Cuban argued the core problem in American healthcare isn’t just high drug prices. It’s how the system is structured.
“The one thing from a business perspective that differentiates the United States versus all the other developed nations when it comes to drugs, we have these things called pharmacy benefit managers,” he replied when asked why Americans are getting ripped off. “They don’t. Period. End of story.”
According to Cuban, these middlemen create massive opacity, and patients “pretty much” have no idea what their drugs actually cost. He added that employers are in the dark, too. “Even though it’s their largest expense after payroll, they have no idea how their benefits work,” he told PBS. “They have no idea what they’re paying for anything.”
That frustration led him to launch online pharmacy Cost Plus Drugs. The model is simple: show the actual cost of a drug, add a flat markup and charge shipping. “We’re transparent,” he said. “We show you our actual cost, our literal actual cost. We show you our markup, which is only 15%, and if it’s mail order, it’s $5 to ship it to you. That’s it.”
He emphasized that the company publishes its full price list and updates it daily. “We are still the only pharmacy that publishes a price list,” Cuban said. “There’s no reason why they couldn’t publish their prices. They choose not to.”
Cuban believes vertical integration keeps prices high. Large insurers often own PBMs, pharmacies and provider networks. “They are so vertically integrated they literally control and set the pricing of all the economics,” he told PBS. “Literally what those companies do defines the cost of health care in this country.”
While he thinks the market can correct the system over time, he warned about the human cost of waiting. “The market can fix the problem, but it’s going to take a long time and people are going to die,” Cuban said. That’s why he supports policy changes that would force insurers to divest certain assets and restore competition.
Outside of pharmaceuticals, healthcare innovation is expanding in other areas as well. For example, Valley Center Wellness is building a luxury behavioral health facility in Corona, California, designed as a private, retreat-style recovery center. The 4.2-acre estate offers private chefs, daily massages and resort-level amenities while focusing on long-term recovery without insurance constraints.
The company has launched an equity crowdfunding opportunity, giving investors exposure to the fast-growing $42 billion behavioral health sector. If you’re interested in learning more, visit Valley Center Wellness to review the opportunity and see whether it aligns with your investment goals.
For Cuban, the mission remains straightforward. He believes the industry needs disruption and says he’s ready to keep pushing for it.
Image: Imagn
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This article Mark Cuban Says Nothing Gets Him More Excited Than Wanting To ‘F*** Up’ The Healthcare Industry. ‘It Certainly Needs It’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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