Mark Cuban: Use AI to Find Where Health Insurers 'Rip You Off'

Cuban, the cofounder of Cost Plus Drugs, an online pharmacy that aims to make prescription drug pricing more transparent, has long said that health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, drive up healthcare costs through opaque pricing and complex contracts.

His podcast comments echoed a series of recent posts on X in which he said employers have little visibility into what they're actually paying for healthcare.

"There isn't a single company, including yours, that knows the actual cost of the care they purchase for your employees and families. Not one," Cuban wrote on Sunday.

Using an AI model to review healthcare contracts is only the first step, Cuban said on the Monday podcast. Employers also need to understand the financial risks they're taking on rather than assuming insurers act in their best interests, he said.

"People default to insurance as if the insurance company's going to give them something more than what they put in," Cuban said. "That's never the case."

He said companies with the financial resources should consider contracting directly with hospitals, clinics, or physician groups rather than relying entirely on traditional insurers. Doing so, he said, allows employers to negotiate lower prices while giving them greater control over their healthcare spending.