Podcast 197: Making Health Care Costs Simple and Transparent w/ Mark Cuban, Co-Founder, Cost Plus Drugs

Episode Summary

We’re ringing in 2026 with Mark Cuban! Prescription pricing remains one of the most opaque and frustrating parts of the health care system, leaving employers, providers, and patients struggling to understand where costs come from and who truly benefits. Mark Cuban joins Health Care Rounds to talk about why prescription pricing became so complex, how a lack of transparency drives higher costs, and how his company Cost Plus Drugs is stripping away unnecessary layers and markups to deliver simpler, more predictable pricing built on trust.

Episode Notes

We’re ringing in 2026 with Mark Cuban!  

Prescription pricing remains one of the most opaque and frustrating parts of the health care system, leaving employers, providers, and patients struggling to understand where costs come from and who truly benefits.  

Mark Cuban joins Health Care Rounds to talk about why prescription pricing became so complex, how a lack of transparency drives higher costs, and how his company Cost Plus Drugs is stripping away unnecessary layers and markups to deliver simpler, more predictable pricing built on trust.

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🎙 ABOUT MARK CUBAN
Mark Cuban is a self-made billionaire entrepreneur known for his early tech ventures like Broadcast.com, his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, and his role as a "Shark" on ABC's Shark Tank, investing in numerous startups and expanding into media, film, and healthcare, always championing innovation and disruption.

In 2019, Mark co-founded Costplusdrugs.com with the aim of lowering generic drug prices for end consumers in the U.S., starting the company after receiving an email from a radiologist named Alex Oshmyansky, who pitched the idea of an online-based pharmacy. He often refers to Cost Plus Drugs as a critique and disruptor of the US health care system, including offering transparent, direct-to-consumer pricing and reducing the role of pharmacy benefit managers.

Mark has earned a number of accolades including being named to the Texas Business Hall of Fame, the Horatio Alger Award, the SXSW Hall of Fame, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and GQ Man of the Year.

🎙 ABOUT HEALTH CARE ROUNDS
Health Care Rounds is a weekly podcast developed for health care leaders who are at the forefront of health care delivery and payment reform. Join Darwin Research Group founder and CEO John Marchica as he discusses the latest advancements in health care business news and policy developments.

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