Mark Cuban Says 'This Is Single-Payer': How His Healthcare Model Could Transform The U.S. Healthcare System

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has been vocal about reshaping the U.S. health care system for years. During recent appearances on podcasts Fishbowl with Jules Terpak and Ground Truths with Dr. Eric Topol, Cuban discussed how his plans aim to address system inefficiencies and reduce consumer costs. His ideas could pave the way for significant changes in how Americans access and pay for health care.

A Closer Look at Cost Plus Drugs

Cuban designed his pharmaceutical company, Cost Plus Drugs, to provide medications at drastically lower prices by eliminating traditional middlemen. He explained on Ground Truths that many pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as CVS Caremark, Optum and Express Scripts, add layers of complexity and hidden costs. Cuban's company bypasses these PBMs, offering transparent pricing and preventing unnecessary markups.

Don't Miss:

• Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you.
• I’m 62 Years Old And Have $1.2 Million Saved. Is This Enough to Retire Stress-Free?

"The smartest thing we did was publish our entire price list because that allowed any company, any sponsor, CMS, researchers to compare our prices to what others were already paying," Cuban said. He noted that the pharmaceutical industry has been the easiest to disrupt; "all it took was transparency and not jacking up margins to market."

Direct Contracts with Hospitals

Another innovative approach Cuban takes to improving health care, particularly for his employees, is direct contracting with hospitals and clinics. On Fishbowl, he explained how his companies negotiate agreements that eliminate deductibles, pre-authorizations and denials. Instead, they pay providers up front, ensuring no financial risk for hospitals and reducing the administrative burden. This model incentivizes efficiency while maintaining quality care.

"It’s just 1955," Cuban said. "You see the doctor, pay them and that's it. No fuss, no muss." By paying Medicare rates or lower, Cuban's contracts save money while ensuring transparency. All agreements are published, encouraging other businesses to adopt similar practices.

See Also: ‘Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.26/share with a $1000 minimum.

Exposing Misaligned Incentives

Cuban's critiques highlight the misaligned incentives in the current health care system. On Fishbowl, he pointed out that hospitals often bear the financial risk for unpaid deductibles, leading to increased costs for everyone. Additionally, large self-insured companies – which cover about 150 million Americans – hire insurance companies to process claims, even though these insurers do not bear financial risk. This arrangement often leads to unnecessary denials that do not serve the best interests of patients or employers.

"Your insurance company isn’t an insurance company," Cuban said. "All they do is process claims and they make your life miserable because they deny them. And then they play games with the provider and you end up paying more."

Trending: Are you rich? Here’s what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy.

The Single-Payer Vision

While rooted in private contracts, Cuban’s approach resembles a single-payer system in its implementation. For employees in his companies, there are no deductibles or out-of-pocket expenses when using contracted networks. "We are single-payer, just our choice," Cuban explained on Fishbowl. He envisions a future where more companies adopt this model, potentially leading to city- and statewide adoption.

Cuban believes his model could eventually transform health care at a national level by promoting transparency and reducing costs. "If we can get these companies to act in their own best interest and in the interest of the wellness of their employees and the lives they cover – it changes in a nanosecond," he said.

A Healthcare Revolution?

Mark Cuban's ideas challenge the status quo and offer a road map for reforming the U.S. health care system. While his model is still evolving, it provides a glimpse into a future where health care is more affordable, efficient and transparent. Whether these changes can gain widespread adoption remains to be seen, but Cuban's efforts are already sparking important conversations about the need for systemic change.

Read Next:

• Can you guess how many retire with a $5,000,000 nest egg? The percentage may shock you.
• The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement — How do you compare?