Mark Cuban’s Pharmacy Is Partnering With TrumpRx — Is It Good for Your Wallet?
Written by
Rebekah Evans
Edited by
Brendan McGinley
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Back in 2022, billionaire Mark Cuban launched Cost Plus Drugs, an online pharmaceutical marketplace geared toward reducing prescription medication costs for those who are currently uninsured or have high deductibles. The company mostly offers generic medications, though there are a few brand-name prescription drugs.
Not long ago, President Donald J. Trump announced the upcoming launch of TrumpRx. This is a government-run counter to Cost Plus Drugs that lets uninsured Americans shop for brand-name medications directly from manufacturers’ direct-to-consumer websites. Prices are also offered at a discount. TrumpRx is set to launch in January 2026.
Now, Mark Cuban’s company is set to partner with TrumpRx. According to Healthcare Dive, here’s what this means for you and your prescription costs.
There May Be Greater Price Transparency
In a keynote speech, Mark Cuban announced the partnership between Cost Plus Drugs and TrumpRx. As part of this partnership, Cost Plus will share access to its programming interface with TrumpRx.
This means the government-run platform will be able to pull key pricing data on any prescription medications already in the Cost Plus system. In turn, this should increase price transparency and give Americans the opportunity to compare costs and make the best financial decision for themselves while receiving the medication they need.
Prescription Prices Could Fall
Prescription medication prices have risen over the years. According to a National Library of Medicine article, the average retail cost of medication is $147. With Cost Plus Drugs, there’s an average savings of $130.
So, increased price transparency isn’t the only result of this partnership. Cuban hopes to make his company more visible to those who need prescription medications — either generic or brand-name. This could increase the number of transactions made through the platform, which could affect baseline costs in a good way.
“Because as our volumes go up, our costs go down,” said Cuban. “And when our costs go down, the price for patients go down. So for us, it’ll be great.”
How Cost Plus Drugs and TrumpRx Both Work
Cost Plus Drugs aims to lower prescription medication prices by cutting out the middlemen and negotiating the best prices with the manufacturer. It also primarily offers generics, which are typically priced lower than name brands.
Currently, Cost Plus has a fairly expansive list of generic medications — over 1,000. While the company does add a 15% markup on the manufacturer’s price plus labor and shipping fees, consumers could still save more than 70% by purchasing generic medications through the platform.
Cuban’s company doesn’t accept every major insurance provider — just over two dozen so far. But the list is ever-growing.
As for TrumpRx, the Wall Street Journal found that only Pfizer has agreed to the President’s terms so far. However, the White House has said more deals are in the works.
TrumpRx is also only set to offer around 300 prescription drugs at this time, all of which are name-brand. That said, prices may be reduced by a significant margin — anywhere from 40% to 80% in some case, according to the White House.
The main drawback of TrumpRx on its own is that it doesn’t currently accept any insurance providers. This means the 92% of Americans who are insured won’t benefit from the platform directly. But by adding Cost Plus Drugs to the equation, there’s another option for those seeking lower prescription prices.
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