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Mark Cuban.
Photo illustration by Estefania Mitre/NPR
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Photo illustration by Estefania Mitre/NPR
Mark Cuban.
Photo illustration by Estefania Mitre/NPR
We’re in instant replay mode this week on The Limits, revisiting Jay’s conversation with billionaire tech mogul Mark Cuban.
Whether it’s the NFL or the NBA, healthcare policy or America’s two-party political system, Mark Cuban believes that when you buck tradition, you begin to grow. In this episode, the Dallas Mavericks owner and Shark Tank investor challenges NFL franchise owners to rethink who they hire and why.
He applies that same logic to the healthcare industry, where he is upending the market by flipping it on its head and selling more directly to consumers with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, or Cost Plus. These big ideas come from a man who hustled his way from his working-class roots all the way to the billionaire club. At a time when the American dream feels completely out of reach, Mark explains why he still believes in it.
On hiring Cynthia Marshall, the first Black woman CEO in the NBA:
So it wasn’t just about being African American, but it was being able to manage a diverse workforce and not only manage them, but be able to go out there and find great people that, you know, made our business better while also increasing diversity and inclusion, right? Because they can’t be mutually exclusive, they have to go hand in hand. You have to recognize that, you know, just checking off boxes is useless.
On embracing diversity in business:
Look, as much as any of us think we’re still 25 years old on the inside, we’re not. You know, the world changes, culture changes, attitudes change. You know, just in our lifetimes, the attitudes toward gay marriage toward marijuana, you know, toward, you know, interracial couples, biracial couples just change night and day. I mean, I remember growing up in Pittsburgh and just having some neighbors that were just so incredibly racist and, you know, you just don’t, it just changed. And so you’ve got to open up…You’ve got to recognize that as much as your heart, your intent’s in the right place, you’re not going to get it 100 percent right and you’ve got to listen and you’ve got to ask for help and you’ve got to listen to that help.
On how Cost Plus works:
We basically created a vertically integrated manufacturing company that will start with generic drugs. And traditionally, the reason there are so many price distortions with generic drugs is because there’s this thing called pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacy benefit managers, they’re like bouncers at a club. And they’re the ones that say, hey I’m controlling access to all the big insurance companies. And if you want this insurance company to sell your drug, you’ve got to pay the cover charge. And so all these drugs pay the cover charge to these PBM’s through rebates. And because they’re paying the cover charges, the prices are jacked up. Well, we said we’re going to create our own pharmacy benefit manager. We’re going to work directly with the manufacturers and we’re not going to charge the cover charge. And so we’re able to sell the drugs that we have access to and soon the drugs that will manufacturer for cost plus 15 percent. So while everybody else is playing that game of, okay, how do I take from left pocket to right pocket or this person to give me money or that person to give me money and then make it look like I’m selling for the lowest price, but putting more in my pocket? We changed that whole game.
On why manufacturers are also buying into the Cost Plus model
But a lot of those are working companies, pharma companies are working through us and very quietly saying to us, thank you, because they might sell to us for a dollar 10 and sell to the big PBM for 99 or 90 cents, let’s say. But because of all the rebates, the end price to a consumer might be $10 or $20. We’ll pay our dollar 10 or whatever and mark it up 15 percent, charge you a $3 pharmacy fee, that we pay the pharmacist that we work with, and $5 for shipping. And that’s it. That’s it. There’s no other added cost. And so the manufacturers actually love what we’re doing for that reason.
On the American two-party system
When people talk in general terms, whether it’s conservative, moderate-conservative, liberal, you know, moderate, you know, Democrat, progressive, that’s part of the problem. And, you know, because we don’t say, okay Jay, what do you think? Mark, what do you think, right? It’s, okay we kind of generalize what group you are in so we can try to understand who you are, as opposed to, just take your own position, just do what you think is right, as opposed to bandwagoning everything. You know, because people want to join, you know, be part of a tribe, as opposed to talk about solving a problem, and you know, the more you identify people’s tribe- if you will- their group, then the more you make that important over the actual policy or idea or promise or business. And so, you know, that again, is why if I had a choice, I would just get rid of political parties.
For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at thelimits@npr.org.
For sponsor-free episodes, weekly bonus content, and more, subscribe to The Limits Plus at plus.npr.org/thelimits. Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter. Email us at thelimits@npr.org.
The Limits is produced by Devan Schwartz, Mano Sundaresan, and Leena Sanzgiri. Our intern is Danielle Soto. Our Executive Producers are Karen Kinney, Veralyn Williams, and Yolanda Sangweni. Our Senior Vice-President of Programming and Audience Development is Anya Grundmann. Music by Ramtin Arablouei. Special thanks to Christina Hardy, Rhudy Correa, and Charla Riggi.
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