Seattle-based Zócalo Health, a virtual healthcare service for Latino patients, is collaborating with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (MCCPDC) to expand its members' access to lower-cost prescription medication. 

Launched in 2021, Zócalo offers Latino patients in Texas and California virtual primary care services and mental health support. 

The company also offers a virtual urgent care clinic with same-day and next-day appointments for common conditions, such as urinary tract infections, COVID-19, rashes, skin infections and more. Users can pay a monthly membership fee to access continued virtual care or meet with a provider for a one-time visit for a flat fee.

"We're excited to be joining forces with Cost Plus to further improve access and lower costs for critical medications for the Latino community. This collaboration is one step (in many) focused at eliminating disparities for Latino patients in the U.S. We are excited to bring this much-needed level of transparency and experience to our community," Erik Cardenas, CEO and cofounder of Zócalo Health, told MobiHealthNews in an email. 

THE LARGER TREND

In August, Amazon Web Services announced Zócalo as one of 10 participants in the 2022 AWS Healthcare Accelerator, which was focused on health equity. 

A month later, Zócalo announced that it had raised $5 million in seed funding to launch its primary care services.

MCCPDC has announced numerous partnerships within the past six months, including collaborations with diabetes and chronic disease management company Diathrive Health and cancer care support company OncoPower.

The company has also established partnerships with pharmacy benefit managers, including New York-based Rightway, California-based EmsanaRx and Tennessee-based RxPreferred Benefits.

MCCPDC announced its first health plan partnership with Capital Blue Cross in October, noting Capital's members would be able to use their insurance cards at MCCPDC directly as of the start of this year.

Jeremy Petch will offer more detail at the HIMSS23 session "Opening the Black Box: Promise and Limitations of Explainable AI." It's scheduled for Wednesday, April 19 at 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. CT at the South Building, Level 5, room S503.