Mark Cuban is taking aim at the U.S. healthcare system, arguing that widespread billing abuse by insurers and providers could be a major source of federal revenue–if only they were held accountable.
“If we fined insurers and providers $100 every time they over-billed, incorrectly denied care or misrepresented any amount of patient out of pocket, we could pay off the national debt,” the billionaire entrepreneur posted on X last week.
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Calls For System Overhaul
Cuban said the system is rigged against everyday Americans who are forced to navigate a confusing maze of billing, denials and surprise out-of-pocket costs. “They play on the fear and information asymmetry that exists in healthcare,” he wrote, calling for the breakup of major players in the industry.
“Break them up. Make them divest non insurance companies,” he said. “And when we are done with the insurance companies, we go to the hospitals and then to the pharma wholesalers. Break em up. Make the markets efficient again.”
Cuban’s post came in response to a post from the Scalpel Policy Solutions founder Tanner Aliff, who highlighted new state laws that give patients “deductible credit” for paying cash prices that are lower than what insurance companies typically reimburse. Aliff argued that these laws help patients save money while still having their spending count toward their annual deductible.
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Aliff explained that instead of “blowing through your entire deductible over a $6,000.00 MRI fee,” patients in certain states can now pay about $300 in cash for the same service and still get credit toward their deductible.
Per Aliff, only four states–Texas, Indiana, Tennessee and Oregon–have implemented some version of this reform.
Cuban praised the effort and called for broader adoption. “If cash pay for all [health care] could be counted against your deductible, we all could shop and save money. If your state isn’t on this list, ask your congressman why not,” he said.
Critics, however, questioned whether the average patient can realistically pull this off. “That you believe that consumers can actually execute this, in a coordinated fashion, makes you delusional,” financial planner Jae Oh replied. “You have clearly not spoken to real people with any illness. This messaging is doing more harm than good.”
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“It happens already. I email and talk to people who buy from Cost Plus all the time,” Cuban replied, referring to his online pharmacy. “I pay deductibles for people all the time. I help people get their [prior authorizations] overturned. All the time. The hardest part is having them count against their deductible.”
As healthcare costs continue to climb, Cuban and others are betting that empowering patients with clearer pricing and fewer restrictions could be a step toward real accountability. Whether more states follow through could be a key test for this growing reform movement.
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