Mark Cuban’s revolutionary mission to make medications more affordable through his Cost Plus Drug company has taken yet another step forward today, as it announces a partnership with healthcare technology company, Binx Health.
Binx Health, a technology enabled healthcare delivery company, provides a digital platform which patients can use to get tested for a variety of health issues. The company offers testing across numerous disciplines, ranging from sexual health (e.g., sexually transmitted infections, etc.) to general health needs (e.g., cholesterol, blood sugar, etc.).
Binx was started with a mission “To improve the wellbeing of communities by providing pathways to care that prioritize clinical integrity and patient convenience.” The company prides itself on being “the first technology-enabled healthcare delivery model that provides populations with access to lab-quality diagnostics in both clinical and remote settings” in an equitable, affordable, accessible, and convenient manner.
In a similar fashion, the Cost Plus Drug Company was started by investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban to help patients access affordable medicine. On the company’s website, Cuban explains: “We started Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company because every American should have access to safe, affordable medicines. If you don’t have insurance or have a high deductible plan, you know that even the most basic medications can cost a fortune. Many people are spending crazy amounts of money each month just to stay healthy. No American should have to suffer or worse – because they can’t afford basic prescription medications.”
Therefore, Cuban’s solution: “Every product we sell is priced exactly the same way: our cost plus 15%, plus the pharmacy fee, if any. When you get your medicine from Cost Plus Drug Co., you’ll always know exactly how we arrived at the price you pay. And as we grow and our costs go down, we will always pass those savings on to you!”
NEW YORK— Mark Cuban (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Because of this partnership between the two companies, patients can now get tested for common conditions and easily access affordable medications, closing a massive gap in healthcare and medication access for potentially millions of people.
Undoubtedly, access to affordable care is a massive pain point with the American healthcare system. Studies have indicated that the U.S. has the highest healthcare spending when compared to other developed countries, topping nearly 17.8% of its GDP. However, despite the spending, the U.S. has poorer health outcomes: “The U.S. has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest death rates for avoidable or treatable conditions, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and among the highest suicide rates…[it also] has the highest rate of people with multiple chronic conditions and an obesity rate nearly twice the OECD average.”
This is the exact problem that new age healthcare companies are attempting to solve, as a means to make healthcare more affordable, more outcomes driven, and ultimately, more patient centered. This is also another reason why policy makers have increasingly pushed for healthcare price transparency in the last few years, with the hope of driving down prices and increasing value for patients.
In a similar spirit, this collaboration between the Cost Plus Drug Company and Binx Health is a promising effort to improve care for the masses.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saibala/2023/04/24/mark-cuban-is-partnering-with-binx-health-to-increase-healthcare-access/