A Possible Solution To The High Cost of Equine Prescription Meds

I must have big money on the brain this week. Or more specifically, how other people’s big business decisions ultimately affect a backyard horse keeper like me.

After my Monday post mentioning a private equity firm acquiring Equine Network, my thoughts turned to billionaire Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company.

The Cost Plus Drug Company’s business model allows it to offer prescription medications at reduced prices. For folks who spend a good portion of their money on medications, buying them through Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company could be a financial game-changer.

But what about pet/horse/livestock prescription medication? It’s not just human meds that folks sometimes struggle to afford. The cost of treating chronic conditions in our animals can be considerable.

For example, just doing a quick estimation in my head, I know I’ve spent over $5,000 for my twenty-six-year-old horse’s medications since he was started on Equioxx and Prascend several years ago. That’s a lot of money for someone like me. It’s money that I don’t spend in other budget categories, or more importantly, save for the future.

Sometimes the price of medications even determines animal life or death. I have previously made the choice for euthanasia, not because there weren’t treatments available, but because I did not feel I was in a financial position to cover the treatment costs.

Perhaps even more sobering is that due to ever-increasing consumer prices, I will likely be confronted with that same choice in the future. And I know I am not the only one. Lots of us have and will confront these painful issues.

With all this on my mind, I decided to fill out the contact form on the Cost Plus Drug Company website. I wrote a little bit about my struggles trying to cover the cost of medications for my senior horse, Bear. I inquired about the possibility of them selling animal prescription medications. Here was the response I received:

“Hi Mary,

We are happy to assist and we appreciate you sharing your feedback and your story with us!

We appreciate you reaching out and letting us know how we can improve. We are looking to add animal prescriptions soon. However, it is a different process on accepting prescriptions for animals than for human medications, even if your animal takes human medicine. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news for Cost Plus Drugs here.

Let us know if you have any more questions or concerns, and we will be happy to address them.

Thank you,

The Cost Plus Drug Company Team”

First off, I was impressed that someone actually seemed to read my email. They responded within 24 hours. It’s not very often that businesses respond in a way where the customer (or potential customer) feels seen and heard.

While I learned that they don’t yet carry animal prescription medications, I am excited to know it is on their radar. You can bet I signed up to be on their email newsletter list so I can keep up with future announcements.

In the mean time, if you are looking for more immediate relief from equine prescription drugs costs, I have three suggestions:

Finally, if you are so inclined, it can’t hurt to do like I did. Let the Cost Plus Drug Company know that you are interested in them carrying prescription pet/horse/livestock medications. Let them know why this is important to you. Email them at info@costplusdrugs.com. If lots of folks make their need known, hopefully we will see Cost Plus Drugs gravitate to offering animal medications that much sooner. Want to visit the Cost Plus Drug Company website? Go to https://costplusdrugs.com/.