Mark Cuban’s low-cost drug company is offering an affordable solution to those looking for birth control pills or emergency contraceptives in the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning the right to an abortion last week.
Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company, which offers a wide range of generic drugs priced at a 15% markup of manufacturing costs, plus a $3 pharmacy handling fee and a $5 shipping fee, sells 14 different birth control and emergency contraceptives on its site.
The company also offers two different versions of pills, levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol, and levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol–ethinyl estradiol, that contain levonorgestrel, which is the main ingredient used in Plan B and other emergency contraceptive pills, and significantly decrease the chance of pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Planned Parenthood lists these drugs as oral contraceptive pills that can also be used as emergency contraception.
Levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol—the generic name for birth control pill Levora—is available for $6.09 on Cuban’s site, more than $35 less than retail prices, according to Cost Plus Drug Co.’s website. Levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol–ethinyl estradiol—the generic name for Daysee—is sold at Cost Plus for $9.04, a whopping $200 less than retail prices, according to the company’s website.
Cost Plus Drug Company, which launched in January, does not currently accept insurance, but it claims its prices are still below what patients would pay with insurance at a typical pharmacy.
In the days following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 50-year-old court ruling that established access to an abortion a constitutional right, sales of emergency contraceptive pills have surged across the country.
Stix, a reproductive health company, told the New York Times that sales of its morning-after pill Restart surged more than 600% in the 24 hours after the Supreme Court decision was released. Similarly, health care products site Wellspring Meds told the outlet that it sold 6,000 units of emergency contraception pills the same day Roe v. Wade was overturned, up from 1,000 units the day before.
Since Friday, when the Supreme Court decision was made official, Cuban has retweeted several tweets confirming the company’s commitment to selling affordable birth control and emergency contraceptives in the wake of Roe being overturned.
“Been looking for some effective ways to help spread info on finding birth control, @mcuban started his own pharmaceutical company called @costplusdrugs, I looked and they have a morning after pills in stock,” wrote one user in a tweet that Cuban later retweeted.
“PSA: @mcuban’s new online pharmacy is selling birth control and other life-saving meds at extreme discounts. Stock up now. Spread the word,” wrote another user in a separate tweet also later retweeted by Cuban.
The company has pledged not to spend any money on marketing, relying entirely instead on word of mouth. Doing so “allows us to price at such low prices,” Cuban said on Twitter.
Last week, a study revealed that Medicare’s drug program could have saved up to $3.6 billion in 2020 by mirroring the pricing strategy of Cost Plus Drug Company. Cuban and his online pharmacy had zero involvement in the study, according to its researchers.
After the study was published, Cuban tweeted it out with a message to President Biden and members of Congress: “Have your people call my people and let’s get this done.”
Neither Cuban nor Cost Plus Drug Co. Immediately responded to Coins2Day’s request for comment.
Sign up for the Coins2Day Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations.
