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One in 10 U.S. adults has skipped taking a prescribed medication in order to save money, according to a Gallup poll. Cost Plus Drugs, Mark Cuban’s new pharmaceutical company, might be their best shot at finding the affordable medications they need.
Policy measures like the Inflation Reduction Act will help some consumers, since it will lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients. But that legislation leaves out many Americans who struggle to pay for necessary medications.
According to a 2021 survey from Gallup and West Health, people who are too young to qualify for Medicare (most people under 65) are twice as likely as other age groups to have difficulty paying for medication.
“Healthcare in America is a story of tradeoffs and financial pain and it’s been that way for years,” says Timothy Lash, president of West Health, a nonprofit research and policy center focused on reducing healthcare costs. “The high cost of healthcare has become a major public health threat – one borne out of cost rather than illness,” he adds.
Although prescription discount companies like GoodRX and SingleCare have been helping reduce medication costs for years, Cost Plus Drugs is delivering big discounts and generating a lot of excitement by word-of-mouth. So what’s the fuss all about?
What is Cost Plus Drugs?
The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (or Cost Plus Drugs) launched in January 2022, with 100 generic drugs available for order through its website.
The pharmaceutical company, which aims to disrupt the drug industry and provide medications to consumers at a low cost, is rapidly expanding its inventory.
“Today, we carry more than 800 of the most commonly prescribed generic medications and are quickly adding more drugs to our inventory. We will be adding brand and specialty products in the coming months,” said Cost Plus Drugs CEO Alex Oshmyansky, in a written comment to Forbes Advisor.
Cost Plus cuts prices in a few ways:
- Spending $0 on marketing
- Manufacturing its own medications
- Removing middlemen from the distribution process
- Forgoing massive mark-ups in favor of a flat 15% markup
According to Oshmyansky, Cost Plus Drugs is different from other pharmacies because of the company’s “radical price transparency.”
Customers can see a simple cost breakdown before they order a medication. Each drug’s final price is the sum of the manufacturing cost, a 15% markup, $3 for pharmacy labor and a standard shipping fee of $5.
Can You Save Money By Using Cost Plus Drugs?
Cost Plus Drugs doesn’t accept insurance, but it may still be the cheapest way to get medication.
“In most cases, even without insurance, our prices are less than what you would pay when using your insurance at a typical pharmacy,” says Oshmyansky.
Liz of Dallas, Texas, says that she and her husband save about $45 a month by filling their generic prescriptions for Crestor, Sertraline and Metformin through Cost Plus Drugs, instead of using their insurance.
John in Norristown, Pennsylvania, told Forbes Advisor that he began using Cost Plus after being laid off in May. Without insurance or discounts, his 30-day supply of Bupropion was $270. With a GoodRX coupon, CVS charged him $75, but through Cost Plus he paid just $18.70 (including shipping).
Liz and John asked to use their first names only for privacy reasons.
“We carry a number of ‘ultra-high cost’ generic products where our prices are radically lower than any other source,” Oshmyansky says.
Here’s how Cost Plus compares to other retail pharmacies for 30-counts of these essential generic drugs:
- Imatinib (Gleevec) for leukemia and other cancers retails at an average of over $4,500. It’s $14.40 through Cost Plus.
- Pioglitazone HCl (Actos) for diabetes costs roughly $70-$90 at major pharmacies, versus $6.60 through Cost Plus.
- Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (Viread) for HIV and Hepatitis B has an average retail price of $554, but costs $18.30 through Cost Plus.
According to Lash, Cost Plus Drugs may be part of a bigger solution to a public health crisis.
“With the Inflation Reduction Act and innovative and disruptive business models like Cost Plus and Civica, a nonprofit generic pharmaceutical company, we are on a better path to affordability in healthcare, though we are not there yet.” Civica works with hospitals to provide affordable generic prescription drugs.
In the meantime, Cost Plus Drugs provides some of the most affordable drugs to consumers, and their prices for certain medications have already dropped since the company launched.
It’s difficult to quantify how much consumers can ultimately save, but a study published by the journal Annals of Internal Medicine estimated that Medicare would have saved $3.6 billion in 2020 if it had ordered medications from Cost Plus Drugs.
Cost Plus Drugs Pros and Cons
Cost Plus prices are hard to beat, but it might not be the right pharmacy for everyone.
“They don’t carry all of my meds so I do have to go to two places to get all of my prescriptions filled,” Liz says.
John, who takes Adderall for ADHD, has to get the prescription filled elsewhere.
Despite that, both have good things to say about Cost Plus. “I overall have had a positive experience with this company,” Liz says. “Their transparent pricing breakdown makes it an easy choice for us. We have had no issues getting our meds delivered and it’s nice having delivery as an option as I have a busy schedule.”
Here are a few features to consider before choosing Cost Plus Drugs:
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How to Use Cost Plus Drugs
If you’re interested in giving it a try, you can follow these steps to order medication through Cost Plus Drugs:
- Find your medication.Browse the list of available drugs. If yours isn’t on the site, submit a request and you’ll get a notification when it becomes available.
- Sign up. You’ll be asked to provide personal information including your name and address, what medications you’re taking and whether or not you’re pregnant.
- Contact your provider. Ask your doctor or provider to order your prescription through the Cost Plus website, or by fax or phone. You’ll get a notification once this step is complete. Oshmyansky recommends asking them to include your email address in your prescription to ensure you are notified right away.
- Check out. Enter your payment information and wait 3 to 14 days to receive your order.
How to Save Money on Prescriptions
Consumers can find the lowest prescription prices by shopping around. Before your doctor orders your next medication, take a look at free discount programs like GoodRx, RxSaver and WellRx, to see if you can get a coupon or a discount card.
Compare pharmacies too, since there’s often a huge difference in prices from one pharmacy to the next. If you use a WellRx discount card for 30 tablets of Iminitab, you’ll pay $5,623 at CVS and $219 at Kroger, but if you use an RxSaver coupon for the same prescription at Walmart, you’ll pay just $129. Through Cost Plus, it’s only $14.40.
Talking to the pharmacist can help, too. If you show the pharmacist your list of medications, they may be able to recommend cheaper options, like generic alternatives, a bulk prescription, or in-house discount programs.
