Becker's Hospital Review

42 CEO / STRATEGY Hospital-at-home strategies freed 3,300 beds, Mayo Clinic says By Georgina Gonzalez N on-life-threatening conditions can now be treated from a patient's home, allowing hospital beds to go to those most in need. This strategy paid off for Roch- ester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, and now payers are interest- ed in making the hospital-at-home strategy commonplace, NPR reported Jan. 24. Research from Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hos- pital suggests that patients who are treated at home have better care outcomes than those treated in hospitals. Pa- tients get readmitted less often and are more active when treated at home, researchers said.Mayo Clinic began offer- ing hospital-at-home care for patients with non-life-threat- ening conditions during the pandemic and saw success from the strategy, not just for patients but also for freeing up space in the hospital. Mayo Clinic said that 3,300 hospital beds have been opened up through the hospital-at-home strategy, according to NPR. The federal provision that allowed for the expansion of in- home care was initially temporary, but payers are pushing lawmakers to make the service permanent. "Even if we're losing money because we're giving extra ser- vices, what's the cost of opening up a hospital bed for a cancer patient or a surgical patient who needs it more?" Michael Ma- niaci, MD, a physician at Mayo Clinic, told NPR. n Mark Cuban is ready to buck healthcare's status quo By Katie Adams W hether they take the form of phar- macy benefit managers or spokes- people, Mark Cuban cuts out mid- dlemen. In January 2021, Mr. Cuban — a billionaire investor known for owning the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and starring on ABC's Shark Tank — launched a generic drug company called the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. e company has expanded since then, launching an online pharmacy, building a manufacturing facility and working to create its own PBM. Mr. Cuban said he is not disrupting the phar- macy space to make money. In fact, he's de- cidedly unfocused on growing profitability for his drug company, he told Becker's in a Feb. 21 email he sent just 24 minutes aer our inquiry was sent. "Our sole mission is to be the low-cost drug provider for as many drugs as we can possi- bly offer," Mr. Cuban said. "at is counter to most business interests, particularly over a long period of time." e company's rejection of bureaucracy is incongruous with healthcare's love-hate rela- tionship with red tape. Many healthcare lead- ers criticize bureaucracy one day, then point to their industry as the most regulated of all as a reason for inactivity the next. Mr. Cuban pointed to hospital price transpar- ency as an example: Even when the federal government requires transparency, hospitals fail to comply, and those that do post price disclosure lists that look "like something straight out of the Looking-Glass." Since price transparency regulations went into effect Jan. 1, 2021, CMS has sent about 342 warning no- tices to hospitals that have been found non- compliant with the rule. Health system leaders would be wise to keep an eye on Mr. Cuban, not only for his phar- macy efforts but for his alarmingly straight- forward approach. Mr. Cuban is behind a running list of actions so simple they practically warrant a double take. e Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. was born from a cold email. Drugs at the pharmacy are sold with a 15 percent markup for price, a $3 pharmacy fee to pay the phar- macists it works with and a fee for shipping. ("at's it," Mr. Cuban said.) Mr. Cuban also accepted and completed our interview at a rate even the most well-staffed PR agencies cannot match — sans calendar invitation or spokesperson. is modus operandi is worth its weight in gold in healthcare. And Mr. Cuban knows it. "Sometimes industries get so set in their ways, so acquisitive and incestuous, or the opportunities are so big that they become the focus of private equity and other simi- lar investors," he said. "When that happens, it takes someone from the outside and a lot of years to result in change. Just look at the auto or mainframe computer industries as prime examples." Although healthcare at large struggles to em- brace transparency, Mr. Cuban said his drug company will forge its own path. One of the company's biggest initiatives is creating its own PBM that will establish contractual re- lationships with entities including cities, hos- pital unions and self-insured companies. Mr. Cuban said the PBM's competitive advantage hinges on its transparency and simplicity. Simplicity is a guiding principle for the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., from its PBM to its name to its main goal, which Mr. Cuban put — again — simply: to save patients "a lot of money" and reduce their stress. "at comes from executing on our plans and reducing the stress of patients and doctors throughout the country," he told Becker's. n "Sometimes industries get so set in their ways, so acquisitive and incestuous. ...When that happens, it takes someone from the outside and a lot of years to result in change." Mark Cuban

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