DALLAS — Hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. has expanded its partnership with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Co. by increasing the kinds of medicines it will purchase from the company, according to a June 27 announcement.
The Franklin, Tennessee-based hospital operator originally partnered with Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs in March, agreeing to purchase norepinephrine and epinephrine — both of which have been listed in short supply recently by the Food and Drug Administration
Through the expansion of the partnership, Community Health Systems-affiliated hospitals will now have be able to purchase 12 drugs from the Cost Plus Drugs Market, including a variety of antibiotics, nausea medications and other pharmaceuticals.
The initial partnership also provided Community Health System hospitals with flexible ordering around things like vial size to reduce waste and cut down on the potential for dosage errors, HealthcareDive reported.
"The benefits of this partnership are significant and include immediate savings on drugs frequently used in the hospital setting," stated Lynn Simon, CHS president of healthcare innovation and chief medical officer. "Equally important, our collaboration is about strategically pursuing opportunities to address a wide variety of pharmaceutical-related issues affecting all U.S. hospitals."
Community Health Systems was the first national health system to buy drugs from Cost Plus Drugs’ new manufacturing plant in Dallas.
The expanded partnership is expected to "reduce pharmaceutical waste and improve medication administration safety," the company said in the announcement.
The Cost Plus Drugs Marketplace offers hundreds of common medications at discounted prices to make hard-to-find drugs more affordable. According to the announcement, Cost Plus Drugs charges a 15% mark-up on the cost of each drug — it currently offers 2,500 generic drugs, up from its initial 1,000 since its launch in 2022.
Community Health Systems is one of the largest health care companies in the United States, according to its website. Its subsidiaries own or lease 71 affiliated hospitals across 15 states, with roughly 12,000 beds.
Since establishing its first pharmacy in 2022, Cost Plus Drugs has grown its reach. In 2022, the pharmaceutical manufacturing company partnered with Kentucky-based EmsanaRx. In 2023, Cost Plus partnered with Nashville-based RxPreferred Benefits. Both partnerships were created to provide low-cost drugs to employers.
