Tuberville Grills Mark Cuban on Drug Prices!

Senator Tommy Tuberville took on entrepreneur Mark Cuban in a recent Senate Aging Committee hearing, diving deep into the murky world of prescription drug costs.

Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs: A Game Changer?

Cuban, the Shark Tank star, launched Cost Plus Drugs back in 2022 with the goal of slashing prescription drug prices. Tuberville wanted to know: how will President Trump's new TrumpRx website and direct-to-patient initiatives shake things up?

Surprisingly Pro-Trump?

Cuban's response was surprisingly supportive of TrumpRx. He even called it "incredible" and "stupendous," offering up Cost Plus Drugs' API for price sharing. He also praised TrumpRx's strategy of bypassing traditional Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), which Cuban believes drive up brand-name drug costs. This is a bit of a head-turner, considering Cuban's past support for Kamala Harris.

Transparency is Key

Cuban emphasized the importance of transparent pricing at Cost Plus Drugs, explaining that seeing their 15% markup builds trust with customers. "What we really sell in this industry is trust," he stated.

Surgery Center of Oklahoma: Disrupting Healthcare

Tuberville also questioned Dr. Keith Smith, the Co-Founder of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which is known for its transparent pricing. Smith explained that he started the center because he felt complicit in "a financial crime" working in a traditional hospital setting. He pointed out that patients are willing to travel for quality, affordable care, with half of the Surgery Center's patients coming from outside Oklahoma, even from Europe and Africa.