Mark Cuban, co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs and former star of TV’s “Shark Tank,” sat with U.S. Medicare Director Chris Klomp on Friday at the Silicon Slopes Summit in Salt Lake City, where they discussed the high cost of prescription drugs during a conversation that got spirited at times.
Cuban has been outspoken about high prescription drug prices, even directing social media posts at President Donald Trump several times through the years.
While Klomp and Cuban agreed about the common goal of seeing prescription drug prices come down, they disagreed over the best way to get there. Cuban was arguing for ways to get prescription drug costs down now, while Klomp seemed to believe it would require additional legislation to get costs lower.
Cuban argued that insurance companies aren’t keeping the needs of consumers in mind as costs go up.
“Those big insurance companies are too big to care,” Cuban said to Klomp.
Cuban said the insurance companies should be broken up because they have too much control.
The evening before Klomp and Cuban’s panel, the White House announced its own low-cost drug initiative, TrumpRx, saying it will have a “real and immediate impact.” Trump made the announcement at the White House, where he said Americans should check the Trump Rx website to see if they can get any of their medications at a lower cost.
On Friday, Klomp promoted the new platform, noting that alongside Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, “Now there are two sites on the internet with transparent lists of prices. We want (TrumpRx) to be the way (Americans get their prescription drugs).”
Early social reaction to TrumpRx upbeat
One social media user compared TrumpRx prices with GoodRx and found that TrumpRx was cheaper for 40 of the 43 medications currently available on the platform.
The fact that only 43 drugs are currently available on the portal has drawn early criticism, but the administration said more will be added over time.
Cuban’s site offers more than 6,000 medications through its online marketplace.
There are some important caveats, however: Customers can only pay in cash for brand-name drugs, cannot use health insurance, and cannot buy generics.
Cuban noted that some drugs on TrumpRx are already available as generics on Cost Plus Drugs, which offers cheaper options — $6 to $12 versus $200 for a branded version on TrumpRx. “If you need a branded version, definitely go to TrumpRx,” he said.
“I’m a supporter of TrumpRx, but they reduce brand prices by 500% or 1,000%, while ‘CubanRx’ reduces prices by 1,500%,” he said with a smile.
Cuban also replied to an X user wondering about the difference between the two websites.
Here is his response:
Of the drugs we both carry, we are cheaper on 90%. They added a bunch of brands that have generics. So we beat them there. Usually by a lot. So make sure to put in the brand name in CostPlusDrugs.com to compare. That said, credit where credit is due. They crushed it on IVF drugs. That’s going to be a lifesaver for a lot of couples And their efforts to get PBMs out of the picture, was a big step forward as well. I just want lower drug and healthcare prices. This was a positive step forward. When they get it right, I’m happy to say so now if he can get brand Pharma to sell at net prices to wholesalers, put a hold on all acquisitions and require inter company transfers to be at Medicare rates, all cash pay counts against deductibles, require all Indy pharmacies and physicians to be paid on time , fully with no clawbacks, guarantee deductibles when people can’t afford them and a few other things , I will go to the White House and personally thank him and give him all the credit. He doesn’t even have to get them all. I care about the cost of health care. I want people to be able to get care they need at a cost anyone can afford. I’ll let the politicians fight out the rest.
— @mcuban on X
More from Cuban and Klomp
Speaking on what the Trump administration and his team are working on and why, Klomp said, “This is personal.”
He said his mother died of cancer when he was 13.
He then shared some national statistics:
- About 65% of Americans have a chronic disease
- About 45% have multiple chronic conditions (polychronic)
- About 30% are diabetic or emerging diabetic
- About 75% are overweight
- About 40% are obese
“We are objectively the least healthy we have ever been as a country,” he said.
Tyler Jennings, who moderated the conversation, works with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity. He steered the conversation toward their thoughts on entrepreneurship.
Asked how to succeed financially, they did finally agree on one thing: Do good in the world.
“There are a lot of ways to make money in life. Don’t waste your time on things that don’t make the world better,” Klomp said.
“Alleviate human suffering,” Klomp said.
