Mark Cuban Calls Health Insurance 'The Most Hated Industry' And Says Politicians Don't Act to 'Break Them Up' – 'All Lip Service'

Fahad SaleemMon, March 30, 2026 at 4:01 AM UTC

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Billionaire Mark Cuban says big drug and insurance companies in the U.S. have grown too powerful to care about ordinary people, but policymakers aren't taking any real action to fix it.

Speaking at the Punchbowl News Conference in Washington, DC, earlier this month, Cuban said major insurance companies run vertically integrated empires — they control everything from pharmacy benefit managers to wellness programs. That's why they hold so much power over the entire healthcare system. His fix? Force them to divest non-insurance businesses and level the playing field.

"There’s just no way to compete with these enormous companies that just don’t care," Cuban said. "You have to break them up. You’ve got to break them up."

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‘Nobody Has Jumped On Board'

Asked if his plan to dismantle big insurance companies has any chance, Cuban pointed to a recent attempt by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) to split up big medicine, but expressed frustration that no other senators backed the initiative.

"But no other senator has jumped on, right?" Cuban said at the conference. "How can no senator jump on to break up big medicine. The most hated industry in the country is the health insurance industry. And yet nobody has jumped on board with Hawley and Warren. That makes no sense whatsoever and just tells me it’s all lip service."

Warren and Hawley last month introduced the Break Up Big Medicine Act to address consolidation in the U.S. healthcare industry.

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Vertical integration allows major insurance and pharmacy benefit companies to control the supply chain and drug access, Cuban said. His Cost Plus Drugs startup sells many medications at far lower prices but can't offer every drug because big pharma pressures manufacturers to limit access, he added.

"They know if there’s a drug that we put on there and we show our cost, then every employer knows what the cost of that medication is," Cuban said. "And that completely changes how people buy healthcare in this country."

‘It Makes No Sense'

Another fundamental problem with U.S. healthcare is high deductibles, Cuban said at the Punchbowl event. If people can't afford their deductibles, their insurance is basically useless even if premiums are low, he said. He thinks the government makes it easy to get student loans or mortgages with guarantees, yet when it comes to healthcare, there's no safety net.

"If I want to go to IU and just party my brains out for one semester and get drunk every day, the federal government will guarantee my student loan," Cuban said. "If I’m in a horrific car wreck and I can’t afford my deductible and it’s going to be $10,000, $5,000, whatever it may be, we don’t care. Good luck to you. It makes no sense."

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This article Mark Cuban Calls Health Insurance 'The Most Hated Industry' And Says Politicians Don't Act to 'Break Them Up' – 'All Lip Service' originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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