09/30/2026
How does a drug that can cost around $100 end up costing thousands?
That is the question raised by the study discussed in this video.
Researchers examined **abiraterone**, a generic cancer medication, and found a striking difference between what the drug could cost and what was ultimately being charged within the prescription benefit system.
According to the speaker:
• Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company offered the medication for **less than $100**
• Pharmacies could acquire it for approximately **$100**
• In Medicare, the speaker cited an average of more than **$2,000**
• In some cases examined, pricing to patients and plans exceeded **$10,000**, reaching as high as **$12,000**
To be clear, $12,000 was not presented as the average. It represented the higher end of what researchers observed.
But that makes the underlying question no less important:
**How does a medication available for around $100 become a cost measured in thousands?**
PBMs operate on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid, employers, and other health plans to manage prescription drug benefits.
When the difference between acquisition cost and what is ultimately paid becomes this large, patients, employers, taxpayers, and policymakers deserve to understand exactly what is happening between those two numbers.
Transparency should make it possible to see what the medication cost, what the pharmacy received, what the PBM charged, and what the plan and patient ultimately paid.
Because before we can lower prescription drug costs, we need to understand where the money is going.
**What do you think?**
Should PBMs be required to disclose the full pricing trail behind every prescription?
Senator Katie Boyd Britt Senator Tommy Tuberville Rep. Terri Sewell Congressman Gary Palmer U.S. Representative Barry Moore Rep. Shomari Figures Congressman Mike D. Rogers Robert Aderholt Representative Dale Strong American Pharmacists Association National Community Pharmacists Association
