Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban has made one small step for prescription drug companies and one giant leap for national healthcare.
Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company is a new pharmaceutical option for consumers who are in need of required medication who may be uninsured.
Americans who can’t afford insurance pay more for medications that most need to live, and Cuban’s company is trying to fight that.
Cost Plus Drugs will only charge consumers the price at which the medication was bought for, a three dollar handling fee, five dollar shipping fee, plus a 15 percent markup.
Even with insurance copay, customers are still likely to pay more for prescribed medication and generic drugs, which makes Cuban’s company a great option for those insured, as well.
At the moment, Cost Plus Drugs stocks around 700 generic drugs for the general public.
Abacavir / Lamivudine (generic for Epzicom), an important drug used to treat and manage HIV, retails for $1,096.10. On Cuban’s website the drug is listed for $57.60 without any processing costs applied.
It’s no secret that the pharmaceutical industry profits from illness and chronic conditions. We shouldn’t have to risk going into debt because we need a certain medication to live, we shouldn’t have to make the decision of waiting to go to the hospital because we can’t afford it or can’t risk the thousands of dollars of debt it would put us in. It is time to look at the American healthcare system as a whole, it is time for change.
Obtaining pharmaceuticals at an affordable price should not be as difficult as it is today. Individuals should not have to decide if they want to buy medicine that they need to live or if they want to save the money and pay off other things they may need.
In a country that is so deeply concerned with the lives of unborn babies, the thought of individuals who are alive and have a difficult time staying alive should be revolting to them. This country cannot claim to be pro-life and simultaneously ignore a literal life or death issue half of its citizens face on a daily basis.
The opportunity to access pharmaceuticals in a more affordable manner is finally upon us, all thanks to Mark Cuban. If one single billionaire man is able to do this, the entire American healthcare system should have no problem doing the same thing.