In its latest bid to upend the pharmaceutical supply chain, the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company has enlisted three dozen pharmacies around the U.S. that will accept a card that consumers can use to purchase prescription medicines at lower prices.
The move appears to be a modest start toward creating a larger network of retail pharmacies that could compete with popular discount websites such as GoodRx. But the move may also pose a challenge to pharmacy benefit managers, which create their own networks for health plans and employers that are always looking to reduce health care spending, according to one industry expert.