Podcasts about cost plus drugs

Matt Jarvis is the SVP of Strategy in Lockton's national pharmacy practice. He has a PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) and has worked in both retail and consulting pharmacy roles. Matt is a subject matter expert in understanding current pharmacy market pricing, supply chain, and medication delivery to the consumer. He leads the development and implementation of innovative clinical solutions that drive optimal management in specialty drugs for Lockton clients. Mentioned on the ShowConnect with Matt Jarvis, PharmD on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjarvispharmdWould you like O'Brien or Matt to discuss your company's pharmacy benefit plan? Reach out here: Contact O'BrienMatt and O'Brien discussed alternatives like Amazon Pharmacy and Mark Cuban's venture, Cost Plus Drugs. Timestamps(00:00:00) – Matt Jarvis, PharmD joins his colleague O'Brien McMahon on the People Business Podcast(00:03:48) – What is the structure of a pharmacy plan and how does it differ from the medical plan? What are the common misconceptions?(00:05:43) – What a PBM is and why does it exist? Why isn't pharmacy handled through the regular health plan?(00:08:12) – Why don't drug manufacturers sell directly to health plans and what the steps are from drug creation to pharmacy purchase?(00:09:44) – What is a formulary?(00:13:09) – Why is there is a disconnect between doctors prescribing medications and what's actually covered by a plan?(00:14:37) – What is the role of drug reps in the overall pharmacy system?(00:18:43) – Is AI influencing how doctors prescribe medications?(00:19:54) – What role does the pharmacist plays in the current system? (00:21:18) – Do pharmacists have any ability to intervene or help patients navigate the formulary, or do they just dispense whatever is prescribe?(00:23:30) – What is prior authorization, and is it driven by clinical or financial outcomes?(00:27:36) – What are the different drug tiers and what qualifies a drug for each tier?(00:28:48) – What qualifies as a specialty drug?(00:30:20) – What is the difference is between prior authorization and step therapy?(00:31:40) – What role do generics in the current pharm landscape?(00:40:16) – Step therapy and biosimilars: how they each work(00:42:38) – Where does mail order fit into the pharmacy system?(00:48:00) – Rebates: the complicated and confusing system of paying for drugs(00:56:21) – Emerging PBMs and when it makes sense for clients to switch(00:59:33) – How can employers vet new-model PBMs when traditional rebate-heavy models look better on a spreadsheet?(01:02:59) – Closing thoughts from Matt Jarvis

Welcome back to the Pear Healthcare Playbook! Every week, we'll be getting to know trailblazing healthcare leaders and diving into building a digital health and biotech business from 0 to 1.Today we're thrilled to host Mark Cuban, co-founder of the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. Cost Plus launched in 2022 with a simple promise: sell generic drugs at the actual cost plus a transparent 15% markup, no hidden fees, no middlemen. In this conversation, Mark walks through how a cold email turned into a company that's now taking on the entire pharmacy benefit infrastructure of the country, from generics to manufacturing to direct provider contracting.

Considering entrepreneurship via buying a franchise? Clark shares his most important rule before investing your hard-earned money: go work for that franchise first. Instead of relying on the sales pitch, spend several months on the job learning how the business really operates, what challenges owners face and whether the opportunity lives up to the promises. Taking this important step could save you from making a costly mistake and help you become a smarter entrepreneur. Also, Clark discusses the expansion of TrumpRx, a government prescription price comparison resource that now includes hundreds of additional generic medications. With prescription costs keeping many Americans from filling the medications they need, Clark reviews several ways to save money on prescriptions, including Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon Pharmacy, Walmart, Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs and charitable programs that may provide free medications. He also explains what to do if you need an expensive brand-name medication and can't afford it, including exploring manufacturer patient assistance programs that could help lower your costs. Plus, Christa shares your #AskClark questions and Clark gives his take. All this and more on the July 1, 2026, episode of The Clark Howard Show.  Submit your questions: Ask Clark. Please note: No new episode on Friday. We wish you a safe and Happy Independence Day! Franchise Entrepreneurs: Segment 1 Ask Clark: Segment 2 New Savings On Meds: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: Clark Howard's Advice Before You Buy a Franchise What Is a 403(b) and How Does It Work? - Clark Howard 6 Things To Know Before Contacting the National Foundation for Credit Counseling 10 Ways To Save on Prescription Drugs - Clark Howard  How Can Discount Drug Apps Offer Such Big Savings on Prescription Medications? These Pharmacies Offer $4 Prescriptions - Clark Howard How To Comparison Shop Drug Prices Before Your Doctor Sends in a Prescription Will Mark Cuban's Prescription Company Really Save You Money?  What Is Disability Insurance and How Does It Work? - Clark Howard How To Buy Term Life Insurance in 7 Easy Steps - Clark Howard Clark.com resources: Episode transcripts Community.Clark.com  /  Ask Clark Clark.com daily money newsletter Consumer Action Center Free Helpline: 636-492-5275 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailPeople trust their doctor. They do not trust the bill they get afterward.In this clip from our episode “Why Healthcare Prices Are Like Fight Club”, host John Driscoll and Mark Cuban, Co-Founder of Cost Plus Drugs, break down why pricing transparency, not just lower prices, was the real reason Cost Plus Drugs earned the trust of patients across the country.Listen to the full episode here

Send us Fan MailNobody at the pharmacy counter knows the real price of their medication, and almost nobody in the system actually wants them to.Mark Cuban, Co-Founder of Cost Plus Drugs, joins host John Driscoll on CareTalk to discuss why pharmacy benefit managers control 85% of drug formularies in this country, how spread pricing quietly inflates the cost of everything from generics to hip replacements, and why true price transparency, not just lower prices, is the real disruption Cost Plus Drugs has brought to a $5 trillion industry.

"The average marketplace deductible grew by about $1,000 per person in 2026. Premium payments increased by an average of 58%... We might be seeing the death throes of the fully insured market."Welcome back to Last Month in Healthcare! This month, Spencer, Nathaniel, and special guest Jonathan Lopez break down the most impactful healthcare headlines and regulatory shifts from May 2026.The episode kicks off with a discussion on the sudden resignation of FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary following reported clashes with the food, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries. From there, the guys dive into the shocking 58% premium hikes and 37% deductible increases hitting the ACA marketplace as carriers like Cigna exit the space.Finally, Spencer and Jonathan play a World Cup-themed game guessing the cost of medical procedures across different North American cities and answer a listener question about Cost Plus Drugs and the rise of direct-to-consumer pharmacy models.If you'd like your question answered on next month's episode, call/text 469-213-6381 and leave us a voicemail/text.Thank you to our sponsor, Walk On Clinic. This month, we shared a tragic reminder to our listeners on the critical importance of early cancer detection and proactive primary care. To hear Chris's brother-in-law's music, tune in here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1SKw4DO9FNLjcZDb5Q81q4?si=Dwpuz2wOTRawhMDfR5NIsAEpisode Chapters:(00:00:00) Intro: The Importance of Early Detection & Walk-On Clinic(00:02:30) Dr. Marty Makary Resigns as FDA Commissioner(00:04:37) ACA Marketplace Premiums Skyrocket by 58%(00:07:51) HR 8163: Stopping the Squeeze on Physician Reimbursements(00:12:34) Harvard Study: AI Outperforms Doctors in ER Triage(00:14:53) The FDA's Push for Hospital-at-Home Devices(00:17:18) Game: Guess the Procedure Cost (World Cup Edition)(00:21:22) Ask Spencer Anything: Cost Plus Drugs & D2C Pharmacies

"The average marketplace deductible grew by about $1,000 per person in 2026. Premium payments increased by an average of 58%... We might be seeing the death throes of the fully insured market."Welcome back to Last Month in Healthcare! This month, Spencer, Nathaniel, and special guest Jonathan Lopez break down the most impactful healthcare headlines and regulatory shifts from May 2026.The episode kicks off with a discussion on the sudden resignation of FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary following reported clashes with the food, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries. From there, the guys dive into the shocking 58% premium hikes and 37% deductible increases hitting the ACA marketplace as carriers like Cigna exit the space.Finally, Spencer and Jonathan play a World Cup-themed game guessing the cost of medical procedures across different North American cities and answer a listener question about Cost Plus Drugs and the rise of direct-to-consumer pharmacy models.If you'd like your question answered on next month's episode, call/text 469-213-6381 and leave us a voicemail/text.Thank you to our sponsor, Walk On Clinic. This month, we shared a tragic reminder to our listeners on the critical importance of early cancer detection and proactive primary care. To hear Chris's brother-in-law's music, tune in here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1SKw4DO9FNLjcZDb5Q81q4?si=Dwpuz2wOTRawhMDfR5NIsAEpisode Chapters:(00:00:00) Intro: The Importance of Early Detection & Walk-On Clinic(00:02:30) Dr. Marty Makary Resigns as FDA Commissioner(00:04:37) ACA Marketplace Premiums Skyrocket by 58%(00:07:51) HR 8163: Stopping the Squeeze on Physician Reimbursements(00:12:34) Harvard Study: AI Outperforms Doctors in ER Triage(00:14:53) The FDA's Push for Hospital-at-Home Devices(00:17:18) Game: Guess the Procedure Cost (World Cup Edition)(00:21:22) Ask Spencer Anything: Cost Plus Drugs & D2C Pharmacies

Send us Fan MailHow to Stop Overpaying for Prescriptions: Cash Pricing, Coupons, and Smarter Pharmacy ShoppingDr. Angela explains why prescription costs can spike even with insurance, emphasizing that coverage depends on insurer formularies shaped by contracts among insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and manufacturers, which can change midyear and trigger denials, step therapy, and prior authorizations. She offers practical strategies to lower costs: start with manufacturer websites for brand-name drugs to find savings cards, copay assistance, or direct-to-consumer cash programs (not typically for Medicare/Medicaid); use generics when possible and compare transparent cash options like Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs and GoodRx; ask direct primary care practices about at-cost dispensing; price-shop across pharmacies and ask pharmacists for the best cash price; and request a 90-day supply when stable, noting stricter rules for controlled medications but potential cash-pay options. For a list of websites for medication discounts, see the companion blog post: https://www.dpcwestmi.com/blog/why-your-medication-costs-so-much----and-7-ways-to-save-money-on-prescriptions00:00 Stop Overpaying Intro01:30 Why Insurance Denies02:54 Prior Auth Chaos03:45 Pricing Disclaimer04:15 Manufacturer Savings05:54 Generics And Cash07:21 Direct Primary Care07:47 Compare Pharmacy Prices09:30 Ask For 90 Days11:27 Final ChecklistSupport the showFollow me on Instagram @angelalifestylemd and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to my podcast & SHARE this episode.

Former Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, joined the show to talk about his current venture, Cost Plus Drugs, plus the sale of the Mavs from his perspective and his current outlooks on the league including the league's flopping and officiating problemsHear the entire interview with Mark Cuban, plus the rest of the show by subscribing to The Dumb Zone at DumbZone.com or Patreon.com/TheDumbZoneRun sheet:Open: Primetime movie trailerSports: Geography impacts on sports teamsMark Cuban: Cost Plus Drugs and Mavs talkNews: Hammerhead shark bites 17 year oldVM birthdays/Today in History ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Most founders set out to build something that matters: a company that's aligned with their mission, now and forever. But what if the very systems we use to build ‘real' companies are the thing that corrupts them?In this episode, Yaniv Bernstein is joined by Silicon Valley legend Eric Ries author of the era-defining 'The Lean Startup', founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, and now the author of a provocative new book, 'Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great'.Eric makes the case that corruption is a structural problem, rather than a failing of the people themselves. He walks Yaniv through the ‘financial gravity' that pulls good companies away from their founders' purpose, and the governance ‘fortresses' that a small handful of outlier companies (from Costco to Novo Nordisk to Anthropic) have used to stay great.In this episode, you will:Understand ‘financial gravity' - the force that degrades values, corrupts economic decisions, and reduces long-term outcomesLearn the legend of Sol Price (the father of modern retail behind Costco), and why treating margins as a liability rather than a virtue can be a source of enduring strengthExplore the ‘industrial foundation' model behind century-old giants like Novo Nordisk and Zeiss, and why companies with this structure are roughly 6x more likely to survive to year 50Hear how Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust shaped its trajectory, and why in the age of AI, trustworthiness is the single most valuable corporate assetTimestamps00:00 Coming Up...01:06 On Today's Show: Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and Incorruptible02:41 From 'The Lean Startup' to 'Incorruptible': Why Governance Matters04:13 The Two Mysteries05:45 Case Study: Sol Price and FedMart08:58 The Shareholder Primacy Trap14:04 Costco's Governance Fortress16:50 Founder Control vs VCs19:33 Why Markets Punish Your Mission21:30 Novo Nordisk's Foundation Model26:35 Anthropic and AI Trust29:37 Governance in Action Today31:54 Doing the Right Thing33:27 Goodhart's Law and Customer Service Metrics38:36 Why 'Harder Is Easier'39:02 Costco's Hotdog Promise41:55 Mission Lock Structures43:32 Pitching Investors, Leverage and the Fundraising Decision Tree49:33 HBO's Silicon Valley and 'Minimum Viable Product'53:57 Closing Thoughts & Book PlugResources mentioned in this episode'Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great' by Eric Ries: https://www.incorruptible.co/'The Lean Startup' by Eric Ries: https://theleanstartup.com/bookLong-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE): https://ltse.com/'Skin in the Game' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Game-Hidden-Asymmetries-Daily/dp/0425284646Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs: https://costplusdrugs.com/The PactHonor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:Follow, rate, and review us in your listening appSecure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGgGive us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media followingKey linksThis episode of the Startup Podcast is sponsored by .tech domains. Forget weird prefixes and creative misspellings; the availability for .tech domains is simply way better than .com. For a clean name that highlights your tech credentials, get a .tech domain at your favorite registrar.The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/Learn more about Chris and YanivWork 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthurAssistant Producer: Steph Hefferan https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-heff/Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

This week on Culture and Consequence, Andrea and I show up sick, tired, irritated, and absolutely done — which means it's the perfect time to talk about billionaires, state‑run media, and the slow‑motion collapse of American democracy. Happy Thursday.We start with Stephen Colbert's final show on CBS and why his removal should terrify anyone who cares about free speech. Then we get into Mark Cuban standing next to Donald Trump like a confused extra in his own downfall. Spoiler: if you're a billionaire, you didn't “earn” it — and yes, I'm still dying on that hill.We also break down the absolutely unhinged $1.776 billion “Anti‑Weaponization Fund” settlement — a taxpayer‑funded slush pile dressed up as patriotism — and why it's one of the most openly corrupt moves we've seen yet. And that's saying something.Plus: why we named the show Culture and Consequence, why politics is doing you whether you “do politics” or not, and why your local elections matter more than you think.If you're overwhelmed, angry, exhausted, or just trying to understand what the hell is happening in this country, pull up a chair. We're right there with you.If this episode brought you a little joy, consider liking, subscribing, or sharing it with someone who might need it.As always, remember it really is All About The Joy.Thank you for stopping by.  Please visit our website: All About The Joy and add, like and share.  You can now watch the livestream version of the show on YouTube at @CarmenLezeth You can also support us by shopping at our STORE - We'd appreciate that greatly.  Also, if you want to find us anywhere on social media, please check out the link in bio page. Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481Editing by Team A-JHost, Carmen Lezeth DISCLAIMER:  As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast.  Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance. 

I wanted to talk to a lawyer 'cause, yeah, lawyers are the ones that see stuff that falls the whole way down to the level of legal action. But I wanted to find out what are the main categories of things that wind up in legal land when it comes to broker or EBC (employee benefit consultant) payment agreements. Like, what are the top ways that compensation agreements go horribly awry? For a full transcript of this episode, click here. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter to be a member of the Relentless Tribe. Doug Aldeen, my guest today, rose to the challenge. And let me just state for the record that, while there are a whole lot of brokers and EBCs who would or do engage in some of these practices, there are also many who do not; and/or it might not be the broker/EBC themselves but the company that they work for who is up to some of the things that we're gonna be talking about in the episode today. But I really, for sure, want to support the gang of honest actors, great fee-based, integrity-based brokers and EBCs; and I wanna support them all day long, many of whom listen to the show and are part of the Relentless Health Value Tribe. But let's talk about how the rent-seeking ones roll so that you can spot them. See what they did there. So, yeah … the first kind of ground zero that Doug and I talk about today is just up-front direct compensation agreements, which may be just ridiculously complicated and/or ridiculously expensive compared to what others are charging for a similar group. Where there's mystery, there is margin. That is so relevant in so many situations, and this is just another one of them. So then, after that, Doug and I move on; and we get into three categories of stuff that sits in that undisclosed or maybe even disclosed zone, where just the whole model of payments is problematic on its face. First up (and this is a biggie), brokers/EBCs recommending rent-seeking solutions to their clients. Like, a broker or EBC suggests a solution to their client where the solution itself makes money on a perverse incentive, and then the broker or EBC gets a piece of that action, which might be called shared savings. So, yeah … even if the dollars to the broker or EBC are disclosed, a naive plan administrator might not see that overcharge for what it really is—and Doug gives a bunch of examples in the show that follows. Chris Deacon (post) and Justin Leader (post) also wrote posts about this. Donovan Pyle wrote a whole book about it. Okay … the next big category of typical payment model methodologies that Doug Aldeen (again, a lawyer) has seen plans get themselves into trouble with their EBCs and brokers—the ones who are sharks, I mean, circling the plan like it's a gold mine—this big category is undisclosed payments from vendors who the plan doesn't realize have a business relationship with the EBC or broker. This can also be a whole basket of solutions that the EBC/broker wants to install, which is basically this problematic payment model at scale. And, right, this matters because then the plan doesn't know if this particular point solution, PBM, stop-loss carrier … Right? They think their broker EBC is recommending it because it's the best option for that particular plan, not understanding that it's the right option for the broker or EBC. And these dollars can be undisclosed because, to a certain extent, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, it's a little bit unclear on certain points. There's some loopholes if you go looking for them because you are so inclined. We get into more detail on this later on. After this, Doug offers a really great roadmap with six steps in it for any plan to really think about as they consider. First, the maybe integrity of their broker or EBC and what is being recommended to the plan. And that's important because, look—and we say this in the conversation that follows, but I'm gonna say it again here loudly—if a plan realizes that their broker or EBC is not really serving the best interest of the plan, there are great options out there. There are great EBCs and brokers who are honest, upstanding that really care about their clients, their plans, their members, and doing the right thing. But telling the difference between the not-so-good ones and the good ones takes some diligence, takes some validation on the part of the plan sponsor. It just does. But the amount of dollars that can be saved is millions, and this is actually, saving those millions is actually better for the plan because it's not like those dollars were going in somebody's pocket. It's not like they were being put toward better, safer, lower premiums. These are dollars that can be cut, and the plan is actually better. My guest today, as I have mentioned at least several times already, is Doug Aldeen, who is a well-known attorney who has spent many years in the self-insured space. This podcast is sponsored by Aventria Health Group, and I do want to give a shout-out and a thanks to our 2026 series underwriter Payerset. Thank you so much for your financial support. That helps keep this podcast on the air. And with that, here is my conversation with Doug Aldeen. Also mentioned in this episode are Chris Deacon, Justin Leader, Donovan Pyle, Mark Cuban, Cost Plus Drugs, Aventria Health Group, Payerset, Cynthia Fisher, Lee Lewis, AJ Loiacono, Dave Chase, Nautilus Health, 32BJ, Andreas Mang, Jon Camire, and Tom Nash. For a list of healthcare industry acronyms and terms that may be unfamiliar to you, click here.   You can learn more on Doug's Web site and by following Doug on LinkedIn.   Doug Aldeen is an Austin, Texas–based Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) healthcare attorney. From 1997 to 2006, he served both as associate general counsel and general counsel for provider-sponsored HMOs in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas. During his tenure at Health Alliance Medical Plans in Urbana, Illinois, he had a front-row seat to the US Supreme Court ERISA case in Pegram v. Herdrich. Since 2007, Doug has owned and operated his own law firm that serves the US self-funded market. In 2016, he served as ERISA counsel for the Berkley Research Group, who served as an advisor to the private equity firm Hellman and Friedman that purchased a majority stake in MultiPlan for $7.5 billion. From 2019 to 2024, Doug served on the government relations committee for the Self-Insurance Institute of America during the period when the Consolidated Appropriations Act was being implemented. In 2022, Doug was featured by KXAN television in Austin in an investigative piece that examined the collection practices of a local hospital. KXAN's investigative work resulted in an Edward Murrow award for public service. For the past 10 years, he has published "The Sunday Morning Bathroom Read" on LinkedIn, which features a weekly tongue-in-cheek review of recent events and the implications to the self-funded market in the US healthcare industry. 00:00 Introduction to this episode. 00:59 A caveat for the record on this episode. 02:11 The first problematic payment model discussed in this week's episode. 03:27 The second problematic payment model discussed in this week's episode. 06:16 The conversation with Doug Aldeen. 06:27 Why is reviewing broker/EBC compensation so important? 08:05 The Ohio Potato Company anecdote. 10:28 The first way brokers/EBCs might get paid. 11:45 What "cost of savings" means. 12:31 EP457 with Cynthia Fisher. 14:07 A rent-seeking solution that requires a cost-benefit analysis. 19:16 Why the broker/EBC is sometimes in the dark about vendor kickbacks. 21:46 Where the CAA is unclear. 22:23 EP508 with Lee Lewis. 22:58 EP379 with AJ Loiacono. 24:04 Actionable advice for plan sponsors. 24:57 The second piece of actionable advice for plan sponsors. 25:22 The third piece of actionable advice for plan sponsors. 26:08 Demystifying the commission structure. 27:35 Using a broker RFP from an open source. 27:54 EP484 with Dave Chase. 28:31 Why you should be auditing data and claims. 29:29 EP478 (Part 1) and EP479 (Part 2) with Andreas Mang and Jon Camire. 31:29 The importance of having an "out." 33:11 Why the broker community may be at substantial risk. 35:30 EP419 with Andreas Mang. Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Dr Siva and Dr Monica Lypson, Betsy Seals, Patrick Nelli, Lee Lewis, Stacey Richter with 15 experts (EP507), Jerry DiMaso, Dr Ahilan Sivaganesan, Ryan Jacobs  

Mark Cuban joins Rav Arora on The Illusion of Consensus for a wide-ranging debate on DEI, wokeness, corporate hiring, race-based diversity goals, merit, quotas, and the backlash against progressive workplace policies. The billionaire entrepreneur, Shark Tank investor, Dallas Mavericks minority owner, and Cost Plus Drugs co-founder argues that businesses should cast a wider net for talent while still hiring the most qualified person, as Rav challenges whether corporate diversity pledges after George Floyd and Black Lives Matter became virtue signalling or a form of discrimination. They discuss EEOC data, Starbucks, Nike, JPMorgan, Pfizer, Microsoft, United Airlines, HBCUs, minority representation, universities, DEI departments, activists such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, and the Trump administration's push to dismantle DEI programmes. The conversation also revisits their previous disagreement over Covid mandates, mRNA vaccine side effects, public health ethics, Joe Rogan, pandemic policy, and whether the response to Covid created lasting mistrust in institutions. Cuban and Arora cover how business leaders navigate culture war pressure, shareholder interests, free speech, corporate virtue signalling, political polarisation, independent media, and the future of race, merit, and fairness in American companies. Subscribe to Rav's Substack for exclusive content: https://www.illusionconsensus.com/ 0:00 - Intro 02:29 — The Clash Begins 04:04 — Mark Cuban Defines DEI His Way 05:52 — “That's Not What DEI Means!” 08:29 — Are Racial Quotas Real? 12:47 — Corporate Virtue Signalling Exposed 21:13 — Should Race Ever Matter in Hiring? 29:34 — Diversity vs. Meritocracy 48:04 — Do Companies Really Even Follow DEI? 57:42 — Does DEI Actually Work? 01:21:31 — Race-Based Goals vs Pure Merit-Based Hiring 01:36:45 — Final Thoughts and Common Ground 01:38:39 — Arora challenges Cuban on campus censorship 01:41:24 — Cuban on discrimination from both political sides 01:42:59 — Why Cuban required Mavericks staff vaccinations 01:43:57 — Arora disputes community benefit of mandates 01:52:57 — Cuban's “herd immunity in three months” argument 02:05:02 — FDA internal disagreements over vaccine approval 02:05:31 — White House pressure and military mandates 02:25:00 — Comparing Covid and vaccine-induced myocarditis 02:36:23 — Infection fatality rate and serious adverse events

In the first episode of this two-part discussion, host Chethan Sathya, MD, sits down with entrepreneur Mark Cuban for a candid look at why Cuban has set his sights on fixing the economics of healthcare. Cuban shares how the “power of broke” shaped his risk mindset, why curiosity beats bravado, and how democratized knowledge and AI are lowering the barrier to entrepreneurship. He unpacks the origin and mission of his new pharmacy business, Cost Plus Drugs, which is all about radical price transparency, straightforward markups, and passing savings to patients. He also discusses his new pushes into mobile pharmaceutical manufacturing and how to apply his Cost Plus Drugs lessons to surgical procedure savings.  Northwell is New York State's largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 28 hospitals, 890 outpatient facilities and more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. We're making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Get the latest news and insights from our experts in the Northwell Newsroom: Press releases Insights Podcasts Publications Interested in a career at Northwell Health? Visit our career site and explore our many opportunities. Watch episodes of 20-Minute Health Talk on YouTube.  For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

This episode of the Society of Actuaries' Professional Development Edge podcast features Dave Dillon, Senior Vice President and Principal at Lewis & Ellis; entrepreneur and founder of Cost Plus Drugs, Mark Cuban; and Jon Forster, the SOA's Director of PD Learning and Content Design. Together, they explore entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and the evolving healthcare landscape. The conversations move from what it takes to be successful in business, the current healthcare landscape, and the state of AI in Actuarial work.  Mark shares the origin and mission behind Cost Plus Drugs, underscoring the critical role of price transparency and trust in improving healthcare access and affordability. Listeners will gain practical insights and forward-looking perspectives relevant to actuaries, business leaders, and anyone interested in the future of healthcare and innovation. Contributors: Mark Cuban; Dave Dillon, FSA, FCA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban talks to Margaret Hoover about what is wrong with the healthcare system in America and how he hopes to fix it.Since selling his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks and quitting ABC's “Shark Tank,” Cuban has focused his energy on disrupting the healthcare industry. He explains how his company, Cost Plus Drugs, works and why he is taking on pharmacy benefit managers–the insurance industry middlemen he blames for rising drug costs.Cuban addresses broader questions about the industry, telling Margaret why he supports bipartisan legislation to break up big healthcare companies, why he thinks TrumpRx is a good program, and why he doubts universal healthcare is feasible in America today.Cuban, who endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, also reflects on the Democratic Party's communication problems and comments on whether he would consider running for president himself in 2028.Support for Firing Line with Margaret Hoover is provided by Robert Granieri, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, The Fairweather Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, Peter and Mary Kalikow, The Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Pritzker Military Foundation, Cliff and Laurel Asness, Katharine J. Rayner, Charles R. Schwab, Lindsay and George Billingsley, The Meadowlark Foundation, Jared Stone, and Al and Kathy Hubbard.

Tired of thyroid meds eating into your budget every month? You're not stuck with high prices—especially with Hashimoto's or hypothyroidism. This episode breaks down three real options to how to save money on thyroid medication so you can stay consistent with your levothyroxine (or other thyroid needs) without the stress. The core message: A quick comparison puts you back in control as the CEO of your health. You'll discover: How GoodRx coupons stack up against Cost Plus Drugs' transparent generics and TrumpRx's brand discounts (with actual price examples for common doses). Why generics often win on cost, but sticking to one manufacturer matters for feeling stable. How to pick the best fit for your life—local pharmacy loyalty, mail-order ease, cash vs. insurance, or whatever season you're in. No overwhelm, just practical RN advice (including my small-town pharmacy wins). Hit play and check prices on your next refill—you've got this!   Links: TrumpRx - https://trumprx.gov  GoodRx - https://www.goodrx.com  Cost Plus Drugs - https://www.costplusdrugs.com    JOIN THE HEALTH WITH HASHIMOTO'S COMMUNITY Unlock your wellness journey with the free Health with Hashimoto's community! Join a supportive community that's here for you every step of the way. The Health with Hashimoto's community is on Skool: https://www.skool.com/health-with-hashimotos/about   Find all links on my resource page: https://healthwithhashimotos.com/resources/   ABOUT THE PODCAST & ESTHER: The Health with Hashimoto's podcast will help you explore the root causes of your autoimmune condition and discover holistic solutions to address your Hashimoto's thyroiditis. It is hosted by Esther Yunkin, a registered nurse, holistic health educator, and Hashimoto's warrior.   This podcast is for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss any questions or concerns with your healthcare professional. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

If you've ever stood at the pharmacy counter shocked by the price of your medication, this episode is for you. From daily thyroid prescriptions to high-demand weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s, drug costs can feel unpredictable—and unfair. In this episode, we break down the new wave of “cheaper prescription” options promising to change the game.We take a closer look at Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs, Amazon Pharmacy and RxPass, and the new Trump Rx pricing initiative—what they offer, how they work, and whether they actually save money on common thyroid medications and weight-loss drugs, as well as other prescription medications. We'll explain which prescriptions are most likely to benefit, where the fine print matters, and why some meds are still frustratingly expensive despite all the headlines.Whether you're managing hypothyroidism, exploring medical weight loss, or paying cash for prescriptions, this episode helps you cut through the noise. 

Mark Cuban approaches healthcare the same way he approaches every industry he enters: by assuming something essential is missing and then asking who benefits from keeping it that way. In American medicine, he believes that missing ingredient is transparency. Not better messaging, not smarter incentives, but simple visibility into how prices are set, who gets paid and who gets taken advantage of. Cuban is a lifelong healthcare outsider. He is a billionaire entrepreneur, NBA championship team owner and longtime Shark Tank investor. That's what makes him the perfect guest for Season 11 of Fixing Healthcare with cohosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. This season's guests have massive online audiences, but their value isn't just reach. It's their ability to listen closely to what millions of patients are experiencing, then translate those insights back into the broader medical conversation. Few guests embody that better than Cuban. He has quickly become one of the system's most incisive critics by paying attention to what patients, employers and clinicians repeatedly say is broken. That mindset led to the creation of Cost Plus Drugs, a pharmacy built on an idea that sounds radical only because healthcare has drifted so far from it. Show patients the actual cost of a medication, add a flat 15% markup and eliminate the opaque middlemen who thrive in the dark. In this conversation, Cuban explains how a cold email from a physician opened his eyes to how hidden pharmaceutical pricing had become and why opacity itself became the opportunity. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INTERVIEW Why drug prices are detached from reality. Cuban breaks down how widely used medications, including GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars per month despite far lower manufacturing costs. The driver, he argues, is not innovation or scarcity, but a system dominated by pharmacy benefit managers whose rebate structures reward insurers and intermediaries while excluding patients. How patients bear the greatest financial harm. With concrete examples, Cuban explains how people in deductible phases, especially those on ACA plans, often pay full retail prices while rebates flow elsewhere. Costs are spread across millions of plan holders, but the financial pain lands on the people who actually need care. Why healthcare's complexity is intentional. From fax machines to prior authorization delays, Cuban argues that administrative friction is not accidental. It protects incumbents, drains clinician time and forces providers into the role of “subprime lenders,” all while patients struggle to navigate a system designed to obscure accountability. What he tells CEOs behind closed doors. Cuban outlines the first questions he asks corporate leaders about their pharmacy benefits, why most are not receiving the rebates they believe they are and how audits are often structured to reveal as little as possible. Transparency, he says, is the first step toward leverage. A blueprint beyond pharmaceuticals. The discussion extends into hospitals, insurance design and employer-based coverage, including Cuban's work on cost-plus wellness contracts that publish negotiated rates so others can replicate them. His goal is not dominance. It is forcing the system to respond by making its incentives visible. Throughout the episode, Cuban's message is blunt and consistent. Healthcare does not need more jargon, better marketing or marginal tweaks. It needs sunlight. Once pricing, incentives and risk are exposed, many of the system's most entrenched practices become much harder to justify. * * * Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn. The post FHC #201: Mark Cuban’s blunt diagnosis of what’s broken in healthcare appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.

Good morning from Pharma Daily: the podcast that brings you the most important developments in the pharmaceutical and biotech world. Today, we dive into a series of pivotal events shaping the landscape of drug development and patient care. The interplay between scientific advancements, regulatory shifts, and strategic partnerships is setting the stage for significant transformations within the industry.A highlight of recent developments is the legal challenge faced by Merck & Co. regarding its new subcutaneous version of Keytruda. This immunotherapy, already a breakthrough in cancer treatment, has encountered a hurdle in Germany where Halozyme, known for its drug-delivery technologies, has secured a preliminary injunction. This move by a German court halts Merck's activities related to Keytruda SC in Germany and underscores the intricate web of intellectual property rights in drug launches across international markets. The outcome of this case could establish crucial precedents for future commercialization efforts involving advanced drug delivery technologies.Meanwhile, there's promising news from Bristol Myers Squibb as their CAR-T therapy, Breyanzi, receives its fifth FDA approval, this time for marginal zone lymphoma. This approval is particularly noteworthy as it marks Breyanzi as the first CAR-T treatment sanctioned for this specific indication and extends its use across five different types of blood cancers. CAR-T therapies continue to represent a frontier in cancer treatment by leveraging the body's immune system to combat malignancies more effectively. This success story from Bristol Myers Squibb highlights the expanding potential of CAR-T therapies in tackling various hematological cancers, offering renewed hope for patients with limited treatment avenues.On the regulatory front, the FDA's proposal to consider single-trial approvals for certain drugs has sparked considerable debate. While some industry voices express concerns about potential compromises to safety and efficacy standards, others see it as an opportunity to invigorate research and development investments by reducing both time and costs associated with bringing new therapies to market. This shift could indeed accelerate innovation but will necessitate a careful balance to uphold rigorous safety standards.In parallel regulatory news, Daiichi Sankyo has received an "untitled letter" from the FDA over its patient ambassador video for Turalio, indicating ongoing challenges in navigating drug promotion guidelines and patient engagement strategies. Such interactions emphasize the complexities pharmaceutical companies face within regulatory frameworks.Shifting focus to corporate strategies, Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs is exploring a partnership with Humana aimed at addressing prescription drug costs for employers. This collaboration seeks to reduce healthcare expenses through innovative pricing models and distribution channels, reflecting a broader industry trend toward cost containment and value-based care delivery.In another development affecting public health policy, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has postponed its vote on changes to newborn hepatitis B vaccine policies due to ongoing debates and confusion surrounding the topic. This delay highlights the intricate nature of updating long-standing public health policies, especially those impacting vaccination schedules.From an investment perspective, Freenome's decision to go public through a $330 million SPAC deal stands out. Specializing in developing blood tests for early cancer detection using machine learning technologies, Freenome's move aims to secure capital necessary for advancing its diagnostic tools—potentially transforming cancer screening practices by enabling earlier detection and intervention.In clinical trial news, Praxis Precision Medicines reported positive efficacy results from a Phase 2 trialSupport the show

Investor and healthcare disruptor Mark Cuban joins The Other 80 to talk about his online pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs, that is bringing affordable drugs with transparent markups to American households. Mark lays out his basic formula for taking overhead and complexity out of the US healthcare system by disaggregating huge vertical businesses and disintermediating middlemen.In this episode, Mark Cuban pitches:That direct contracting with hospitals is his next healthcare disruptionWhy he thinks medical schools should be freeHow financial audits are a first step to lowering healthcare pricesWhy price transparency is contagiousMark thinks the best way to make change is from outside the system:“What makes [Cost Plus Drugs] radical is when we started, everybody presumed and expected that we would work within the system. That we would partner with the big three wholesalers that control 98% of the sale of drugs - that we would partner with the big three PBMs that control 85% of prescriptions. And, we did the exact opposite because we knew they were the problem.”Relevant LinksThe Cost Plus Drugs mission statementRead and watch Mark Cuban testimony for the Senate Special Committee on Aging More on Mark's hospital negotiation strategyAbout Our GuestMark Cuban is an investor who lives for his family, his "Shark Tank" companies and the Dallas Mavericks. He is the owner of the 2011 World Champion Dallas Mavericks and bestselling author of "How to Win at the Sport of Business," and was an entrepreneur from the early age of 12 when he sold garbage bags door to door. Today, Cuban is the highly successful entrepreneur and investor with an ever-growing portfolio of businesses.A lifelong entrepreneur and investor, Cuban has started and built multiple industry-changing organizations including Costplusdrugs.com, which sells medications at industry low pricing with total cost transparency, which he founded with Dr. Alex Oshmansky. Named a winner of the GQ Men of the Year in 2006 and included in The New York Times Magazine's Year in Ideas, Cuban is recognized as being among the most influential people in both the cable and sports industries. He may be best known for his purchase of the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 4, 2000. Under his leadership, the team's home games have become a total entertainment experience.Prior to his purchase of the Mavericks, Cuban co-founded the first commercial streaming company AudioNet, which became Broadcast.com, the leading provider of multimedia and streaming on the Internet. Broadcast.com was sold to Yahoo! Inc. in July 2000. MicroSolutions, a leading national systems integrator, was co-founded by Cuban and partner Martin Woodall in 1983, and later sold to CompuServe.In 2001, Cuban founded AXS TV (www.axs.tv) and sister network, HDNet Movies, the very first all high-definition TV network. He also co-owns the Landmark Theater chain, Magnolia Pictures, Magnolia Home Video and 2929 Productions along with partner Todd Wagner. With the release of the movie "Bubble" in 2005, Magnolia and Landmark Theaters pioneered the release of the movie's "day and date," meaning the

Norm Hitzges sits down with billionaire entrepreneur and former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for an unfiltered conversation about life after selling the team, walking away from Shark Tank, and why business still feels like the ultimate sport. Cuban opens up about family life, his growing company Cost Plus Drugs, and his view of American politics—spoiler: he's not a fan of either party.In classic Norm fashion, the chat flows from heartfelt reflections to sharp insight, with plenty of humor along the way. From fake pharmaceutical studies to pitch emails gone wrong, this is Mark Cuban at his candid best — confident, self-aware, and always one step ahead.

The price you pay at the pharmacy isn't just about the drug—it's about the plan, the pharmacy network, and the rules hidden in the fine print. We break down a simple, repeatable method to shop Medicare Part D so you protect access to your doctors and treatment while cutting real costs. With Medicare's new $2,000 out-of-pocket cap, the math changes: premiums and pharmacy choice now drive your savings more than fear of runaway brand-name bills.We walk through Medicare.gov step by step—creating your account, reviewing your medication history, and adding every pharmacy you actually use, from your local favorite to the chain near your vacation home. You'll learn how to identify preferred pharmacies, interpret plan deductibles that often bypass generics, and compare total annual cost, not just the monthly premium. Along the way, we share client stories that show how zero-premium plans can deliver $0 copays on key generics and how pairing Part D with Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs can slash prices on certain fills without sacrificing convenience.If you rely on insulin or name-brand medications, you'll hear how to prioritize plans that price your specific drugs best, why star ratings matter for service and fewer headaches, and the easiest way to enroll online. We also cover pro moves like setting premiums to auto-deduct from Social Security to avoid missed payments and ensuring your new card is on file before January 1 so refills don't stall. It's a clear, calm guide for you and the loved ones you help—because the right plan isn't the cheapest on paper, it's the one that fits your real life.If this helped, follow the show, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find practical Medicare guidance. Envision Financial Planning. 5100 Poplar Avenue, Suite 2428, Memphis, TN 38137. (901) 422-7526. This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the United States. Advisory Services offered through Envision Financial Planning, a Registered Investment Adviser.

Send us a textSchedule an Rx AssessmentSubscribe to Master The MarginAs a pharmacy owner, it often feels like you're fighting battles against systems designed to work against you.Few battles loom larger than the fight against Pharmacy Benefit Managers whose opaque practices have chipped away at margins, patient trust, and sustainability for independents.In this episode, we have two very special guests on the front lines of PBM reform: Dared Price, President of OreadRx and Price Pharmacies and Mark Cuban, legendary entrepreneur and co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs.Scotty Sykes, CPA, CFP®, Bonnie Bond, CPA, MBA, and Austin Murray sit down with Mark Cuban and Dared Price to explore how transparent models are reshaping the future of drug pricing and pharmacy benefit management.We cover:The real impact of spread pricing, rebates, and hidden contracts on pharmacy ownersHow Cost Plus Drugs is cutting out middlemen to bring transparency to patients and pharmaciesWhy OreadRx's transparent PBM model could change the game for independentsWhat a fair reimbursement ecosystem might look like and how owners can prepareAnd more!Stay connected with Dared Price, OreadRx, Mark Cuban and Cost Plus Drugs:  Dared Price LinkedInOreadRx WebsiteOreadRx FacebookCost Plus Drugs WebsiteCost Plus Drugs LinkedInCost Plus Drugs FacebookStay connected with us on social mediaFacebookTwitter (X)LinkedInInstagramScotty Sykes – CPA, CFP LinkedInScotty Sykes – CPA, CFP TwitterBonnie Bond - CPA, MBA LinkedInMore resources about this topic:Podcast - Pharmacy's Never Ending Story: PBM Reform Act and Medicare Drug Pricing ChangesPodcast - Pharmacy Ownership Through TimePodcast – The State of PBM Reform

Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs, talks to Katie about the state of entrepreneurship, American healthcare, and tech under Trump. The investor campaigned for Kamala Harris, but thinks tech execs have a “moral imperative” to play nice with the president. Why? It's good business.Follow the UnCanny Valley feed for WIRED's best and brightest as they provide an insider analysis of the overlap between tech and politics, from the influence of Silicon Valley on the Trump administration to how inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots fanned the fire on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Political persuasion lessons and funny stories based on today's news~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Politics, Sean Duffy, Katie Porter, JD Vance, Privatizing Student Loan Debt, Poll Response Heart Rate, Dr. Carmen Simon, Malaria Cure, Tu Youyou, Intentionally Flawed Census Data, Census Secretive Algorithm, Obamacare, President Obama, President Trump, Bernie Sanders Shutdown Leverage, Illegal Alien Healthcare, Gell-Mann Amnesia, Anti-Trump Tim Miller, Trump's 3rd Term, Bill Kristol, Authoritarian Leadership, Jack Smith, Arctic Frost Investigation, Don Jr. Trump, BlinkRx, Cost Plus Drugs, GoodRx, Rand Paul, 6 Penny Budget Plan, Pam Bondi Congressional Testimony, Adam Schiff, Scott Jennings Technique, National Guard Deployment, Democrat Somalia-Style Leadership, Hungary's Tax-Free Mothers, Charlie Kirk Texts, Ukraine War, Scott Adams~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topics to build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

If you are listening to this prior to October 9, 2025, go to the 32BJ Changing the Playbook on Hospital Prices event, where Mark Cuban will be keynoting. Cora Opsahl will also be speaking, and I will be there listening. For a full transcript of this episode, click here. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter to be a member of the Relentless Tribe. So, trust, simplicity, and a chicken. Yeah, this is where this whole conversation with Mark Cuban and Cora Opsahl winds up. And it is a barnstormer because you know what some really good advice is for anybody trying to do right by patients and taxpayers and plan sponsors? It will take trust. It will take making the complicated as simple as possible. And also if you could pay with a chicken, like in the good old days, that would be messy—I can say with confidence, having grown up in Pennsylvania Dutch country, where there are many, many chickens—but also being able to pay with a chicken could also indicate that healthcare prices are reasonably chicken proportionate and that the doctor-patient relationship is good enough to break bread (or have chicken). That last part is really important, and Cora Opsahl says this at one point in the episode that follows. It doesn't matter how wonderful the transparency or the financing. If the prices are insane and there's no more reasonably priced options in any given market, then yeah. Shane Cerone says in an upcoming show, he says, “We do not have a broken healthcare market. We do not have a healthcare market. There is no market.” Okay … so, you could call this conversation a continuation of the episode with Ann Kempski (EP444), entitled “Two State Healthcare Laws Often Don't Go as Planned.” But it's not just healthcare laws that often don't go as planned. It's some very foundational constructs that we have built the healthcare sector upon that may also not go as planned. The healthcare sector is like a game of pachinko. You chuck an input into the mix, and it will bounce all around into all the perverse incentives and human beings and the non-market that we have. And who the heck knows what is gonna pop out the other side? It's like game theory at its most unpredictable. So, in healthcare, there are many, many examples of when the solution to a problem arguably creates worse problems than the problems the solution was trying to solve for. But we—Mark Cuban, Cora Opsahl, and I—are gonna shake our fists at two such solutions today: high deductible health plans (or just high deductibles in general) and then self-insured employers trying to solve the complexity of the healthcare industry by hiring consultants and middlemen, middle people, and other vendors to navigate the pachinko parlor (that is, our $4.9 trillion healthcare sector) on their behalf. Now, I am not in any way saying the spirit of these two endeavors—high deductibles and hiring consultants and middlemen—weren't wholehearted. They seem just like many other well-intentioned solutions: very logical on their face. What I am saying is there are many ways in the real world for even the most, again, genuine endeavor to turn into a money grab for those so inclined. While at the same time I'm saying all this, I'm also very much saying that there are some amazing consultants and middle folks such as independent third-party administrators, otherwise known as TPAs, and PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) who are transparent and hold themselves accountable to the fiduciary responsibilities that their clients are held to in real terms—not just in marketing speak with 40 pages of disclaimers following. There are great folks out there, many of whom listen to this podcast and are part of our tribe on the regular. And to you, I say thank you for being here, because it takes all the knowledge and more from every one of the guests featured in these past 487 Relentless Health Value episodes plus treating every day like a school day to make sure that we all are not getting shanked from behind by some innocent-looking contract term that turns out to be anything but. The conversation that follows starts out talking about high deductibles; naturally segues into how third-party intermediaries can actually exacerbate the issues here; then we get into transparency, financing, clinical organizations taking on risk, and the benefits and challenges of direct contracts; then Mark lays out a vision for the future. Okay … I wanna get to this conversation. If you are a new listener here—and you might be because … yeah, Mark Cuban—let me just inform you that this podcast is largely listened to by those who work in the healthcare industry. So, you are going to encounter acronyms. You will also encounter me referencing earlier episodes because surveys say listeners really appreciate these callbacks to go get additional information about any given topic. You can get what amounts to a personalized Master's of Healthcare Administration curriculum if you follow the episode threads long enough. And that was a direct quote from a listener. About the acronyms: They are holy terrors, and we in the healthcare industry are chock-full of them. See the list of acronyms that come up so that you can follow along at home if this is your first day at our rodeo. Also in the show notes is a transcript of this show, along with links to all of the mentioned episodes. Okay … here's my conversation with Mark Cuban, who is Mark Cuban and also CEO and founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs. Also, we have Cora Opsahl, who is health fund director of the 32BJ Health Fund and an expert in many things healthcare. Also mentioned in this episode are Shane Cerone; Ann Kempski; Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs; 32BJ Health Fund; Preston Alexander; Stanley Schwartz, MD; Elizabeth Mitchell; Kimberly Carleson; Andreas Mang; Jonathan Baran; Claire Brockbank; Dave Chase; Cristin Dickerson, MD; Green Imaging; Kevin Lyons; and Vivian Ho, PhD.   You can learn more at markcubancompanies.com and costplusdrugs.com and follow Mark on LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads, and X. You can follow Cora on LinkedIn.   Mark Cuban, a native of Pittsburgh, PA; a graduate of Indiana University; and now a Dallas, TX, resident, has always been an entrepreneur. From selling and trading baseball cards, selling garbage bags and magazines door-to-door, to starting a business buying and selling stamps at age 16, there have been few years in his life when he wasn't starting or running a business. He got a job at one of Dallas's first retail software stores, Your Business Software. He spent nine months doing everything from learning how to code, supporting and installing every type of business software, and of course, making sure the store opened on time. That went well until he made the executive decision to turn over the store opening duties to a peer so he could pick up a check for a sale. He was fired. Mark decided it was time to start on his own. The next day, MicroSolutions was founded. Over the next seven years, MicroSolutions became a national leader in Systems Integration and custom applications for local and wide area networks. Growing to 80 employees, never having a losing month of operations and nearly $36M in annualized sales, in 1990, MicroSolutions was sold to CompuServe. At that point Mark “retired” to investing in public and private companies. His knowledge of the networking industry led to success and brought returns of 80% and more each year. Mark purchased the Dallas Mavericks for $285M. The Mavs would have the second-best record in the NBA during his ownership tenure. Mark sold majority control of the Mavs in 2023 but continues to be actively involved with the team. He first appeared as a “Shark” on ABC's Emmy Award–winning hit business show Shark Tank in 2011 and quickly established himself as one of the most popular and tough Sharks, investing millions of dollars in hundreds of small businesses. He's been nominated nine times for an Emmy for Shark Tank. His last appearance on the program was during season 16 in May 2025. In 2019, Mark co-founded costplusdrugs.com. Its launch on January 19, 2022, with transparent pricing and a limited markup, has fundamentally changed the pricing of medications in the United States. Cora Opsahl is the director of the 32BJ Health Fund, a self-insured Taft-Hartley benefit fund that sets comprehensive design parameters to ensure the 200,000 members and families of SEIU 32BJ have easy and sustained access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. Cora has prioritized a data-driven approach, focusing on reducing trend, solving the affordability challenge on behalf of union members, and, most important, keeping members at the center of every decision. Under her leadership, the 32BJ Health Fund has saved more than $35 million annually—which it has reinvested in new and better benefits, including the first fertility benefit for members—by removing NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals and physicians from its network, transitioning to a new pharmacy vendor and pharmacy group purchasing coalition, and establishing an expanded Centers of Excellence program. In 2024, Cora conducted an innovative medical request for proposal, stipulating that all finalists have a signature-ready contract drafted by the 32BJ Health Fund prior to award. As a result, the Fund negotiated an agreement that brought unprecedented visibility and increased accountability to its benefit. In 2025, the Health Fund is focused on direct-contracting opportunities that allow it to carve out key benefits and ensure quality while managing spend. Cora is regarded as an expert in pharmacy benefit management and was recently appointed to the Board of Governors for the National Alliance for Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions and the Purchaser Advisory Council for the National Quality Forum and Joint Commission. She previously worked at Express Scripts, where she held a variety of roles, ranging from Medicare Part D to operations, strategy, and acquisitions. Cora earned an MBA from Saint Louis University.   06:25 What was the original rationale behind high deductibles? 07:38 How high deductibles are creating a class of functionally uninsured people. 09:29 EP482 with Preston Alexander. 10:20 “We're using health insurance as a proxy for healthcare.” —Mark 12:30 How providers are now in the debt collecting business rather than the healthcare business. 12:55 EP486 with Stan Schwartz, MD. 15:16 “We have a fundamental reasonability problem.” —Cora 16:07 EP425 with Marshall Allen. 18:25 Direct contracting versus self-funded employers. 19:27 EP436 with Elizabeth Mitchell. 19:30 EP480 with Kimberly Carleson. 19:33 EP372 with Cora Opsahl. 23:53 Why the current system doesn't allow the accountability that is needed. 24:39 EP452 with Cora Opsahl. 26:34 How direct contracting gives strength back to independent practices that high deductible plans take away. 27:46 Who pays, what's the price, and where does the power lie? 31:24 EP419 with Andreas Mang. 34:45 How it comes down to power and leverage when controlling healthcare costs. 38:13 EP483 (Part 1 and Part 2) with Jonathan Baran. 38:35 Why putting together a network and just buying healthcare—not discounts—is not as difficult as it seems. 40:10 Why we need to stop talking about disruption and start talking about change. 40:56 EP453 with Claire Brockbank. 41:02 EP484 with Dave Chase. 43:07 EP485 with Cristin Dickerson, MD. 44:32 EP487 (Part 1) with Kevin Lyons. 46:34 EP466 with Vivian Ho, PhD. 47:40 Why it's the incentives that are different between American hospitals and hospitals in a single-payer program. 50:25 The main takeaways from the conversation. 51:08 Why you can't fix the problems in healthcare without transparency.   You can learn more at markcubancompanies.com and costplusdrugs.com and follow Mark on LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads, and X. You can follow Cora on LinkedIn.   @mcuban of @costplusdrugs and Cora Opsahl discuss trust and simplicity in #healthcare on our #healthcarepodcast. #podcast #financialhealth #patientoutcomes #primarycare #digitalhealth #healthcareleadership #healthcaretransformation #healthcareinnovation   Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Kevin Lyons (Part 2), Kevin Lyons (Part 1), Dr Stan Schwartz (EP486), Dr Cristin Dickerson, Elizabeth Mitchell (Take Two: EP436), Dave Chase, Jonathan Baran (Part 2), Jonathan Baran (Part 1), Jonathan Baran (Bonus Episode), Dr Stan Schwartz (Summer Shorts), Preston Alexander

NEW INTERVIEW: MARK CUBAN(:41) lowering prices at COST PLUS DRUGS(2:40) on Medicare for All (6:04) How Dems get health care wrong (7:19) Guaranteeing deductibles (10:28) “DID THEY VOTE FOR THIS?”(13:52) democracy in peril, do the rich care?(15:39) on income inequality(19:34) on taxing the rich (20:35) “The Trump health care tax”(21:54) media consolidation(23:21) messing with Kimmel may backfire (25:12) is Mark optimistic? (2 Americas)(27:11) Advice for Dems: Have action items (27:32) Zohran = opposite Trump?(29:08) focus on the “here & now”(29:33) James Talarico rocks (30:51) Mark likes the Holler

What happens when AI collides with salesmanship, streaming-era sports, and healthcare?In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined by Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, Dallas Mavericks co-owner, and founder of Cost Plus Drugs.Topics include fiery group chats and how dissent sharpens thinking, the sales playbook of modern politics, and concrete fixes for U.S. healthcare like ending PBM opacity, publishing real prices, and government-backed patient financing. Mark also explains how AI is pushing media from “social” to algorithmic, why he expects millions of models, and why ESOPs are an underrated wealth engine. He shares what he'd build today and weighs in on NBA economics under the new collective bargaining agreement.Timecodes: 00:00 Introduction 00:47 Salesmanship, Politics, and Social Media04:05 AI, Algorithms, and the Future of Media06:29 Fragmentation of Social Platforms09:04 Political Messaging & Economic Populism12:05 Wealth, Equity, and Employee Ownership16:39 AI's Impact on Education and Healthcare21:32 Fixing the US Healthcare System29:39 Entrepreneurship in the Age of AI33:38 Business Success, Sports, and Investments35:32 NBA Economics and Team Building50:44 Personal Priorities & Closing Thoughts Resources: Find Mark on X: https://x.com/mcuban Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16zFind a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenbergPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Downtown is in flux — a high and growing office vacancy rate, but also big goals for building conversions, more residential housing (market and affordable!!), and stunning new art. Your household bills like water and electricity are likely to rise soon, but it's not too late to invest in solar. And a bunch of companies headquartered here in Pittsburgh have found themselves in the news, from THAT American Eagle Sydney Sweeney ad to PNC making Project Runway more “boring.” Plus, some celebrities were spotted at Kennywood! City Cast's Megan Harris and Sophia Lo are talking about some of the biggest stories of the week. Can someone please get their hands on this Heinz x Smoothie King ketchup smoothie collab and tell us how it tastes??! Leave us a voicemail on the KETCHUP SMOOTHIE HOTLINE at 412-212-8893. Notes and references from today's show: Best of Pgh 2025 [City Paper] Pittsburgh's Downtown Office Vacancy Still High at More than 18% [Pittsburgh Magazine] Downtown offices continue to empty, but efforts to reimagine them take hold [WESA] First round of artists named for Pittsburgh civic space Arts Landing [WESA] Market Square businesses are stable three months into construction, but brace for winter [Next Pittsburgh] Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership details "encouraging shift" in downtown office market [Pittsburgh Business Times]  Barrage of weekend violence not a bellwether for Pittsburgh or region, officials say [TribLive] How Well Do You Know Pittsburgh? Take This Quiz! [City Cast Pittsburgh] Why Pennsylvanians may see higher electric bills this summer — and next [SpotlightPA] PA Power Switch  ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act' casts shade over Pennsylvania's solar boom [Allegheny Front] Public Input Meetings [Pittsburgh Water]  Health insurance in Pennsylvania may see biggest hike in years [WESA] Giant Eagle Pharmacy joins Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs discount program [WESA] Heinz Just Launched a Ketchup Smoothie and It Might Actually Be Good [Food & Wine] Pete Davidson spotted hitting the rides at Kennywood [TribLive] PNC's marketing strategy takes center stage on 'Project Runway' [Pittsburgh Business Times] American Eagle stock soars after Trump hails Sydney Sweeney ad [Axios] Learn more about the sponsors of this August 8th episode: Fulton Commons Overlook Maps Barrel & Flow Become a member of City Cast Pittsburgh at membership.citycast.fm. Want more Pittsburgh news? Sign up for our daily morning Hey Pittsburgh newsletter. We're also on Instagram @CityCastPgh! Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info here.

Will your favourite pharma players suffer greatly because of Trumps' proposed massive pharma tariffs? Will embodied AI bring China ahead in the AI race vs the West? Can Palantir's monster results continue or is the market already pricing in perfection with this company? Michelle Martin and Arun Pai discuss geopolitics, innovation, and valuations. From Trump’s jaw-dropping plan to slap 250% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, to the growing rift in AI strategy with open vs closed models. Michelle Martin and Arun Pai from Monk’s Hill Ventures connect the dots; Will Trump’s pharma gamble squeeze margins—or spark opportunity? Is the AI Cold War creating investible divergence? And is Palantir’s AI-fueled surge still worth chasing after a record-breaking quarter? Plus, how Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs is rewriting the pharma playbook with radical price transparency.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Spoon Podcast, Michael Wolf sits down with Mark Cuban for a wide-ranging conversation recorded live at the SKS 2025. Mark and Mike discuss the transformative power of AI, exploring why Cuban believes it's more disruptive than the internet, mobile, or streaming, and how it's already reshaping education, jobs, and entrepreneurship. Cuban shares his views on the broken U.S. healthcare system, his motivations behind launching Cost Plus Drugs, and how GLP-1s might reshape food and wellness. They dive into the changing innovation landscape, the future of hardware and robotics, and why Cuban stepped away from Shark Tank and sold majority control of the Mavericks. You won't want to miss it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textHave you ever felt that heavy blanket of anxiety or depression weighing on your chest, making even breathing feel like a monumental task? This deeply personal episode takes you into the heart of what it means to struggle with self-worth and discover healthier pathways forward.Brad and Dylan share candid reflections on their mental health journeys, highlighting that breakthrough moment when you finally find a better approach to life but feel frustrated about all the time spent doing things the "wrong way." They explore how underlying many of our struggles is a fundamental question of self-worth—not whether we need to grow, but whether we can value ourselves exactly as we are right now.The conversation weaves through several powerful themes that will resonate with anyone navigating their own mental health landscape. They discuss Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs initiative and how it's dramatically reducing medication costs for countless Americans. They examine our cultural difficulty with saying "no" without lengthy explanations, revealing how boundary-setting connects directly to our sense of worth. And they challenge listeners to reconsider how they value their time, perhaps our most finite resource.Throughout, there's a refreshing honesty about parenting, coaching, and the importance of allowing controlled hardships in our lives. Rather than shielding ourselves or our children from every discomfort, they suggest that appropriate challenges help develop resilience and realism about our place in the world.This episode serves as a gentle reminder that you deserve the basic elements of self-care—clean clothes, healthy food, and physical wellbeing—not because you've earned them through productivity, but because of your inherent value as a human being. Take a moment to listen and reflect on where you might be undervaluing yourself and how small shifts in perspective could lead to profound changes in your life.

Thursday, March 27th, 2025Today, Jeffrey Goldberg from the Atlantic has released the entire Signal chat except for the name of the CIA agent; the Republican Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Wicker and the ranking member Jack Reed have called for an investigation into the Signal chat; a Democrat has won a Pennsylvania State Senate seat for the first time in history; the Supreme Court has upheld Biden's ghost gun limits; an anti-vaxxer has been hired to head a study on vaccines; the Trump administration has responded to Judge Boasberg's order to show cause why they're not in contempt of court for refusing to turn the planes around; Judge Boasberg draws the American Oversight lawsuit against the cabinet members on the Signal chat; and Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.Guest: Mark CubanCost Plus DrugsCost Plus Drugs for BusinessesMark Cuban (@mcuban.bsky.social) — BlueskyThank You, Naked WinesTo get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to nakedwines.com/DAILYBEANS and use code DAILYBEANS for both the code and password.Stories:Atlantic releases transcript of Trump team's Signal chat | The Washington PostVaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism | The Washington PostDemocrat James Andrew Malone scores an upset win in a Pennsylvania Senate special election | WHTM ABC27Supreme Court Upholds Biden Administration's Limits on ‘Ghost Guns' | The New York TimesGood Trouble: Let's all call and remind our senators who voted for Pete Hegseth that they voted for an unqualified candidate with a questionable background. They put Americans' safety in the hands of an amateur who inexcusably invited a journalist to join an unsecured chat about a foreign military operation. Ask your members of congress to draw up articles of impeachment, and to call on Hegseth, Gabbard, and Ratcliffe to resign immediately. Contacting U.S. Senators | senate.govhttps://5calls.orgTrump and Musk are attempting an illegal power grab is a crisis we must stop. HandsOff2025.comTeslaTakedown — Join the March 29 GLOBAL DAY OF ACTIONFederal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen. Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/From The Good NewsLanugo | WikipediaCreation Entertainment's Salute to the Women of Sci-Fi:A Creation Charity Event Give me liberty or give me death! | WikipediaPasadena HumaneTennesseeWilliams.net - HAROLD AND ST. CLAUDETennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival Reminder - you can see the pod pics if you become a Patron. The good news pics are at the bottom of the show notes of each Patreon episode! That's just one of the perks of subscribing! Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/ Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote, Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewroteDana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

The Hidden Costs of PBMs: How Aggregate Discount Guarantees Inflate Drug Prices. In episode 465 of Relentlessly Seeking Value, host Stacey Richter interviews Chris Crawford, CEO of RxSaveCard, about the inflated costs within the pharmacy benefits industry. The discussion centers around a lawsuit involving J&J, highlighting how large PBMs can significantly overcharge for drugs that are available much cheaper through cash-pay options like Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs. Crawford explains how Aggregate Discount Guarantees, a common contracting mechanism, often fail to control spread pricing effectively and instead may lead to higher costs for plan sponsors and employees. The episode also covers how RxSaveCard can help employers and employees access these lower cash prices, circumventing the inflated costs from traditional PBMs. === LINKS ===

With the help of co-founder Mark Cuban, Cost Plus Drugs CEO Alex Oshmyansky is radically re-engineering the pharma marketplace and dramatically cutting the price for many prescription drugs. Oshmyansky joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to share his amazing journey — from struggling as an immigrant in primary school to starting college at age 13, how medical practice led to entrepreneurship, plus reimagining his original plan on advice from the legendary incubator Y Combinator. Oshmyansky explains how Cost Plus Drugs stumbled into success, turning adversaries into allies and harnessing patience as a superpower.For more info, visit: www.rapidresponseshow.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mark Cuban (entrepreneur, investor, and founder, Cost Plus Drugs) joins Chris Cuomo to discuss disrupting Big Pharma, lowering healthcare costs, and how transparency can fix the system. Cuban also responds to Megyn Kelly's criticism of his political views and shares his thoughts on polarization, ranked choice voting, and why innovation is key to solving America's biggest challenges. Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Join Chris Ad-Free On Substack: http://thechriscuomoproject.substack.com Support our sponsors: Oracle See if your company qualifies for this special offer at Oracle.com/CCP That's oracle dot com slash CCP. AG1 AG1 is offering new subscribers a FREE $76 gift when you sign up. You'll get a Welcome Kit, a bottle of D3K2 AND 5 free travel packs in your first box. So make sure to check out DrinkAG1.com/ccp to get this offer! Select Quote Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at SELECT QUOTE DOT COM SLASH CHRISC to get started 120Life For a limited time, Try 120Life and save 20% off. Just use the code “CHRIS20” at checkout at 120life.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the help of co-founder Mark Cuban, Cost Plus Drugs CEO Alex Oshmyansky is radically re-engineering the pharma marketplace and dramatically cutting the price for many prescription drugs. Oshmyansky joins Rapid Response host Bob Safian to share his amazing journey — from struggling as an immigrant in primary school to starting college at age 13, how medical practice led to entrepreneurship, plus reimagining his original plan on advice from the legendary incubator Y Combinator. Oshmyansky explains how Cost Plus Drugs stumbled into success, turning adversaries into allies and harnessing patience as a superpower.Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This show from last year was one of the most popular episodes of the past year. And it's also extremely relevant right now, given all of the PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) goings-on, as well as ongoing litigation like the J&J lawsuit, etc. Listen to the show with Julie Selesnick (EP428) for more on that one. For a full transcript of this episode, click here. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter to be a member of the Relentless Tribe. Also, Brian Reid (EP456) in the episode from a couple of weeks ago. And he talks about how Mark Cuban's way of communicating and framing some of the issues with the big PBMs and just all of the perverse incentives in the drug supply chain. He says this way of communicating is “the chef's kiss.” So, besides the insights here that follow being relevant in and of themselves, there's also some lessons just in how those issues are teed up and communicated that we all can learn from. CEOs and CFOs … hey, this show is for you. Let's start here: What do all of these numbers have in common: $140,000, $3 million, $35 million, and $3 billion? These are all actual examples of how much employers, unions, and some public entities saved on healthcare benefits for themselves and their employees. The roadmap to saving 25% on pharmacy spend and/or 15% on total cost of care in ways that improve employee health and satisfaction always begins when one thing happens. There's one vital first step. That first step is CEOs and/or CFOs or their equivalents roll up their sleeves and get involved in healthcare benefits. Why can't much happen without you, CEOs and CFOs? Here's the IRL: In 2023, the healthcare industry has been financialized. There is a whole financial layer in between your company and its healthcare benefits. And unless the C-suite is involved here and bringing their financial acumen and organizational willpower to the equation, your company and your employees are currently paying hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of dollars too much and doing so within a business model that deeply exacerbates inequities. There are people out there who are very strategically taking wild advantage of a situation where CEOs/CFOs fear anything to do with healthcare in the title and don't do their normal level of due diligence. You think it's an accident that this whole space got so “complicated”? HR needs your help. Bottom line, if you are a CEO or CFO and you do not know everything that Mark Cuban and Ferrin Williams talk about on the pod today … wow, are you getting shellacked. Mark Cuban uses a different word. Healthcare benefits are, after all, for most companies the second biggest line-item expense after payroll. But don't despair here, because all of this information is really and truly actionable. Others out there are cutting zeros off of their spend and actually doing it in ways that are a total win for employees as well. My guest today, Mark Cuban, is a CEO, after all; and when he looked into it, it took him T-minus ten minutes to figure out just the order of magnitude that his “trusted” benefits consultants and PBM and ASOs (administrative services only) and others were extracting from his business. He pushed back. So can you. But just another reason to dig into that financial layer wrapping around your employee health benefits right now, you might get sued by your employees. Below is an ad currently being circulated on LinkedIn by class action attorneys recruiting employee plan members to sue their employers for ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) violations. It's the same attorneys, by the way, from those 401(k) class action lawsuits. I've talked to a few CEOs and CFOs who are scrambling to get ahead of that. You might want to consider doing so as well. Now, for my HR professional listeners, considering that some of what Mark Cuban says in the pod that follows is indeed a little spicy, let me just recognize that the struggle is real. There are multiple competing priorities out there in the real world, for sure. And bottom line, because of those multiple competing priorities out there in the real world, it's really vital that everybody work together up and down the organization in alignment. Lauren Vela talks a lot about these realities here in episode 406. This is a longer show than normal, but it's also like a show and a half. Mark Cuban talks not only about his work with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, which is a company that buys drugs direct from manufacturers and sells them for cost plus 15%, a dispensing fee, and shipping. It's kind of crazy how so often that price is cheaper, sometimes considerably cheaper, than the price that plan members would have paid using their insurance—and the price that the plan is currently paying the PBM. Most Relentless Health Value Tribe members (ie, regular listeners of this show) will already know that, but what is also fascinating that Mark talks about is what he's doing with his own businesses and the Mavericks on other fronts, like dealing with hospital prices. In this show, we also talk the language of indie pharmacies, fee-only benefits consultants, TPAs (third-party administrators), PBMs, and providers doing direct contracting. There are, in fact, entities out there trying to do the right thing; and Mark acknowledges that. Ferrin Williams, PharmD, MBA, who is also my guest today, is chief pharmacy officer at Scripta and an expert in pharmacy benefits. She adds some great points and some context to this conversation. Scripta is partnering with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs. Scripta has a neat Med Mapper tool and also services to help employees find the lowest costs for their prescriptions. If you are a self-insured employer, for sure, check out Scripta. Here are links to other shows that you should listen to now if you are inspired to take action. I would recommend the shows with Paul Holmes (EP397); Dan Mendelson (EP385); Andreas Mang (EP419); Rob Andrews (EP415); Cora Opsahl (EP372); Lauren Vela (EP406); Peter Hayes (EP346); Gloria Sachdev, PharmD, and Chris Skisak, PhD (EP390); and Mike Thompson (EP389). Also Mark Cuban mentions in this show the beverage distributor L&F Distributors. Thanks to Ge Bai, Andreas Mang, Lauren Vela, Andrew Gordon, Andrew Williams, Cora Opsahl, Kevin Lyons, Pat Counihan, David Dierk, Connor Dierk, John Herrick, Helen Pfister, Kristin Begley, AJ Loiacono, and Joey Dizenhouse for your help preparing for this interview. Also mentioned in this episode are Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company; Scripta Insights; Julie Selesnick; Brian Reid; Paul Holmes; Dan Mendelson; Rob Andrews; Peter Hayes; Gloria Sachdev, PharmD; Chris Skisak, PhD; Mike Thompson; and Scott Conard, MD. You can learn more at Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company and Scripta Insights. You can also connect with Scripta and Ferrin on LinkedIn.   Mark Cuban has been a natural businessman since the age of 12. Selling garbage bags door to door, the seed was planted early on for what would eventually become long-term success. After graduating from Indiana University—where he briefly owned the most popular bar in town—Mark moved to Dallas. After a dispute with an employer who wanted him to clean instead of closing an important sale, Mark created MicroSolutions, a computer consulting service. He went on to later sell MicroSolutions in 1990 to CompuServe. In 1995, Mark and longtime friend Todd Wagner came up with an internet-based solution to not being able to listen to Hoosiers basketball games out in Texas. That solution was Broadcast.com—streaming audio over the internet. In just four short years, Broadcast.com (then Audionet) would be sold to Yahoo! Since his acquisition of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000, Mark has overseen the Mavs competing in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2006—and becoming NBA World Champions in 2011. Mark first appeared as a “Shark” on the ABC show Shark Tank in 2011, becoming the first ever to live Tweet a TV show. He has been a star on the hit show ever since and is an investor in an ever-growing portfolio of small businesses. Mark is the best-selling author of How to Win at the Sport of Business. He holds multiple patents, including a virtual reality solution for vestibular-induced dizziness and a method for counting objects on the ground from a drone. He is the executive producer of movies that have been nominated for seven Academy Awards: Good Night and Good Luck and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Mark established Sharesleuth, a research and investigation Web site to uncover fraud in financial markets, and endowed the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents, an effort to fight patent trolls. Mark gives back to the communities that promoted his success through the Mark Cuban Foundation. The Foundation's AI Bootcamps Initiative hosts free Introduction to AI Bootcamps for low-income high schoolers, starting in Dallas. Mark also saved and annually funds the Dallas Saint Patrick's Day Parade, the largest parade in Dallas and a city institution. In January 2022, he started Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company as an effort to disrupt the drug industry and to help end ridiculous drug prices because every American should have access to safe, affordable medicines. Ferrin Williams, PharmD, MBA, is chief pharmacy officer of Scripta. With 15+ years' experience in the pharmacy industry, Ferrin brings a unique perspective to Scripta that spans the retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), and broker/consulting sectors. Her expertise ranges from pharmacy operations and services to innovative clinical programs, pharmacy audit, alternative payer funding, and specialty drugs. As chief pharmacy officer, Ferrin leads the company's clinical strategies organization responsible for devising innovative cost-containment strategies for prescription drugs, ensuring Scripta clients, members, and their providers are provided with best-in-class clinical insights and tools. Ferrin earned her bachelor's, Doctor of Pharmacy, and MBA degrees from the University of Oklahoma.   06:29 What was Mark Cuban's own journey as a self-insured employer with Cost Plus Drug Company? 07:44 What did Mark find when he decided to go through and look through his company's benefit program? 09:12 “When you think it through, you start to realize that money is being spent primarily by your sickest employees.” —Mark 10:02 How do you get CEOs and CFOs of self-insured employers to realize that their sickest employees are the ones subsidizing their checks? 13:00 What is the role of insurance in healthcare? 14:30 “If you can't convince them, confuse them and hide it.” —Mark 15:24 The reality behind getting a rebate check. 16:21 Why are rebates going away, and why isn't that changing PBM earnings? 19:05 How do you get CEOs and CFOs to dig into their benefits plan? 20:59 Does morally abhorrent move the needle? 21:33 “What we're trying to do is just simplify the [healthcare] industry.” —Mark 24:19 What's been changing in consumer behavior? 25:04 “Transparency is a huge part of building that trust.” —Ferrin 25:19 Why CEOs and CFOs really have the power to change healthcare. 32:29 What are Cost Plus Drugs' plans to expand? 39:21 Where is the future of the prescription drug market going? 42:09 What will happen to the prescription drug market in 10 to 20 years? 48:40 The wake-up call self-insured employers should be acknowledging now. 52:02 Where is the real change in the healthcare industry going to come from?   You can learn more at Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company and Scripta Insights. You can also connect with Scripta and Ferrin on LinkedIn.   @mcuban and Ferrin Williams provide advice for #CEOs and #CFOs of #selfinsuredemployers on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #valuebasedcare #healthcareoutcomes   Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Rob Andrews (Encore! EP415), Brian Reid, Dr Beau Raymond, Brendan Keeler, Claire Brockbank, Cora Opsahl, Dan Nardi, Dr Spencer Dorn (EP451), Marilyn Bartlett, Dr Marty Makary  

"If my child needs a gene therapy to live, they should get it and anyone's child should. So let's figure out how to pay for it." - Jake Frenz On the final of four podcasts filmed at a recent healthcare thinktank I hosted in Frisco, Texas, Jake Frenz, the founder and CEO of SmithRx, joined me to share his journey from the Marine Corps to Pharmacy Benefit Management, and what makes him so passionate about ending prescription drug price gouging.  Jake and I discussed what some of the core challenges are in the PBM space, why he was so inspired by Mark Cuban's venture Cost Plus Drugs, and what the “watershed” moment in US healthcare will look like.  I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to talk to one of the best minds in the PBM space, and I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Self-Funded with Spencer. Chapters: 00:00:00 Meet Jake Frenz 00:08:06 Consumer-Driven Healthcare 00:15:53 Transparency in the PBM Industry 00:20:57 The “Watershed Moment” in US Healthcare 00:36:14 Mark Cuban's Innovative Healthcare Venture 00:39:34 Subscription-Based Models Disrupting Pharmacy Competition 00:52:34 Revolutionizing Healthcare 00:55:14 Empowering Americans to Drive Healthcare Reform Key Links for Social: @SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02 Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286 Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/ Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/ Key Words:  Healthcare Insights, Pharmacy Benefit Managersm, Simplify Healthcare, Watershed Moment, Cost Plus, cost plus drugs,  mark cuban, Big Picture Healthcare, American Spirit, Healthcare Innovation, Affordable Medications, price gouging, self funded, podcast #HealthcareInsights #PharmacyBenefitManagers #SimplifyHealthcare #WatershedMoment #CostPlus #costplusdrugs #markcuban #BigPictureHealthcare #AmericanSpirit #HealthcareInnovation #AffordableMedications #pricegouging #selffunded #podcast --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spencer-harlan-smith/support

Bakari Sellers is joined by businessman, TV personality, and part owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban to discuss the arc of his career (1:04), his transition to pharmaceuticals with his new business Cost Plus Drugs (4:34), and the challenge of raising good kids as a billionaire (13:19). Plus, where he stands on the electoral races in Texas and Massachusetts (15:34), why he supports Kamala Harris for president (26:22), and quick takes on the NBA and WNBA (32:53). Host: Bakari Sellers Guest: Mark Cuban Producer: Donnie Beacham Jr. Executive Producer: Jarrod Loadholt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(0:00) The Besties intro Mark Cuban: Voting record, working with Ross Perot's campaign in 1992 (5:43) The history of Cuban's love/hate relationship with Trump (19:08) Trump's performance as President: what he got right and wrong (40:46) Party nominations: Kamala vs. Trump (49:18) Biden's performance as President: what he got right and wrong (55:45) Should Kamala share blame for Biden's failures? (1:07:01) International conflict, national debt, crypto regulation (1:21:33) General sense of Kamala Harris, why she's been avoiding adversarial interviews, why Sacks supports Trump (1:31:47) Selling a majority of his Mavericks stake, changing business landscape of the NBA, what he's working on at Cost Plus Drugs (1:44:50) Thoughts on AI, what's next for him (1:51:37) Relationship with Elon, re-evaluating the Twitter deal, OpenAI's new fundraise Follow Mark: https://x.com/mcuban Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theallinpod Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg Intro Video Credit: https://x.com/TheZachEffect Referenced in the show: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=mcrfpus2&f=m https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/wait-are-windowless-bedrooms-going-to-be-a-thing https://washingtonreporter.news/editorial/scoop-kamala-harris-likely-to-nominate-gary-gensler-as-treasury-secretary-if-elected-senate-sources

AFK re-run episode with billionaire Mark Cuban who joins Tyler Ninja Blevins for an in-depth conversation about everything from managing his email deluge and 100+ companies to his Cost Plus Drugs mission and celeb privacy tips. They delve into Mark's NBA ownership, secret hobbies, parenting as a billionaire, and even his favorite splurges. This episode is packed with Mark's insights, humor, and no-holds-barred advice from the one and only maverick mogul. --AFK w/ Ninja is hosted by professional streamer and gamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins. Join Ninja twice a week as he dives into the internet and the ever changing realms of music, sports, comedy, gaming, and entertainment to uncover the latest projects and excitement brewing within these industries.AFK w/ Ninja drops Tuesdays and Thursdays on Apple Podcasts and everywhere you get your podcast fix.FOLLOW the Official AFK Instagram: @afkwithninjaGRAB some official #TeamNinja merch: teamninja.comHANG with me on more socials: https://pillar.io/ninjaEmail the show at podcast@teamninja.com Produced by SALTExecutive Producer: Nick PanamaCreative Producer: Cameron TaggeAssociate Producer: Andre RojasSound Design & Edit: Aaron Kennedy

In this episode, Scott Becker is joined by Paige Twenter, Assistant Editor at Becker's Healthcare, to discuss the latest in healthcare pricing controversies, Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs initiative, and ongoing drug shortages. Paige provides insights into the pricing debates surrounding GLP-1s, the expansion of affordable drug access, and the critical issue of oncology drug shortages affecting hospitals and patients nationwide.

In this episode, Scott Becker is joined by Paige Twenter, Assistant Editor at Becker's Healthcare, to discuss the latest in healthcare pricing controversies, Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs initiative, and ongoing drug shortages. Paige provides insights into the pricing debates surrounding GLP-1s, the expansion of affordable drug access, and the critical issue of oncology drug shortages affecting hospitals and patients nationwide.

Guest: Mark Cuban, co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs and costar, Shark Tank“I just love to compete,” says Mark Cuban. “And the day I stop is the day I'm dead.” Previously the co-founder of MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com, Cuban is probably best known to the public today for competing with the likes of Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran on the reality TV show Shark Tank. But his real focus — and his real enemy — these days is the pharmaceutical industry. His latest company, Cost Plus Drugs, aims to be far more transparent than established PBMs, or Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and Mark clearly relishes eating their margin. “Everybody talks about disrupting healthcare,” he says. “This is the easiest motherf**king industry I've ever tried to disrupt because it is so opaque, and everybody is so captured by the scale of these big companies.”In this episode, Mark and Joubin discuss Luka Dončić, Synthesia, the Sony hack, the American Dream, TikTok propaganda, MicroSolutions, throwing away watches, keeping kids grounded, Black Mirror, keeping up, Ali Ghodsi, the NBA, MGM, gambling in Dallas, the Adelson family, CES, transparency, and Alex Oshmyansky.Chapters:(00:55) - Game day and superstitions (03:08) - Email responsiveness (05:48) - Shark Tank (09:21) - Retiring young (10:57) - American Airlines' lifetime pass (12:55) - Sports and blue-collar work (16:02) - Compete or die (17:43) - Why Mark hates meetings (19:57) - Immortality through AI (23:05) - The new AI wave (25:07) - Startup founders and low-hanging fruit (29:24) - Selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo (31:35) - The Dallas Mavericks (34:52) - Selling his majority stake (37:08) - The missing link in pharma (41:27) - Disrupting a huge industry (43:57) - The problem with debt (44:59) - What “grit” means to Mark Links:Connect with MarkTwitterLinkedInConnect with JoubinTwitterLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com Learn more about Kleiner PerkinsThis episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm

Mark Cuban is a businessman, investor, star of TV series Shark Tank, long-time principal owner of Dallas Mavericks, and founder of Cost Plus Drugs. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Listening: https://listening.com/lex and use code LEX to get one month free - Cloaked: https://cloaked.com/lex and use code LexPod to get 25% off - Notion: https://notion.com/lex - Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/lex to get special savings - Shopify: https://shopify.com/lex to get $1 per month trial EPISODE LINKS: Mark's X: https://twitter.com/mcuban Mark's Instagram: https://instagram.com/mcuban Cost Plus Drugs: https://costplusdrugs.com Shark Tank: https://abc.com/shows/shark-tank Dallas Mavericks: https://www.mavs.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (11:10) - Entrepreneurship (26:03) - Shark Tank (36:29) - How Mark made first billion (1:02:39) - Dallas Mavericks (1:08:05) - DEI debate (1:43:58) - Trump vs Biden (1:46:20) - Immigration (1:55:53) - Drugs and Big Pharma (2:11:53) - AI (2:16:05) - Advice for young people

From judging inventions on “Shark Tank” to reshaping the image of NBA ownership, Mark Cuban is known for many things. In this chat with a16z General Partner David Ulevitch, he discusses the importance of entrepreneurship for maintaining America's status as the most innovative place on the planet. This includes making big bets, like he's doing with Cost Plus Drugs, his latest venture that seeks to upend the prescription drug markets. Resources: Find Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcubanFind David Ulevitch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/daviduLearn more about the American Dynamism Summit: www.a16z.com/ad-summit Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Billionaire businessman, TV star & Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban joins the boys to discuss Jake Paul’s angry 2015 email to him, Logan pitches PRIME, Elon Musk f**king up Twitter, Drake in bed with Bobbi Althoff, Bill Gates pulling his women, MrBeast asking for $1M, downsides of being a billionaire, Kyrie Irving being a “distraction,” Cost Plus Drugs destroying big pharma, Luka or LeBron, why going to college is “dumb” & more…   Wear Maverick Clothing ► https://maverickclothing.com SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST ► https://www.youtube.com/impaulsive   Tune in to watch the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Elimination Race Presented by Xfinity at Martinsville on Sunday October 29th at 2:00 PM Eastern on NBC: https://www.martinsvillespeedway.com/events/2023-fall-cup-race/?cid=MVS_WB_NA_WL_SchedPageFall_220914   https://costplusdrugs.com    Watch Previous (Logan Paul on Beating Dillon Danis, KSI Losing vs Tommy Fury, Apologizing to Nina Agdal) ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTwWAVC0vTg&t=2858s   ADD US ON: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/impaulsiveshow/   Timestamps: 0:00 Welcome Mark Cuban!