Billionaire and Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban didn’t have to think twice Tuesday when asked if he’d support another presidential run by former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“No,” he replied to a Politico reporter during the online news outlet’s annual health care summit in Washington, D.C. Moments earlier, he shut down conversation about Harris’ health care message during her 2024 presidential run.
“Don’t remember, don’t care,” he said. “Those days are gone.”
His disapproval carries some weight, since he served as a celebrity surrogate for Harris just a couple of years ago. The Democrat and former vice president said earlier this month she’s considering another run.
Cuban ruled out running, himself. He also expressed openness to supporting any candidate bent on disrupting the health care industry, regardless of political affiliation, but said he has no interest in promoting anyone in particular at the moment.
“I’m trying to change how (messed) up this health care industry is right now, and that’s all I care about,” he said, using a strong expletive.
Cuban is an especially big fan of the Break Up Big Medicine Act, a bill introduced in February by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that would prohibit joint ownership of a medical provider and a health insurer or pharmacy benefit manager. The business models of UPMC and Highmark, which combine an insurance company and health system under one corporate umbrella, would be banned.
The proposal has gained little traction among lawmakers.
“A lot of wimps in this town,” Cuban said.
As the owner of Cost Plus Drugs, an online pharmacy that promises affordable medication, the one-time tech investor frequently speaks on health care issues. He seems to reserve particular contempt for the largest pharmacy benefit managers, the companies acting as middlemen between insurers and drugmakers.
Critics say pharmacy benefit managers drive up patient costs and underpay drugstores for filling prescriptions through their opaque pricing schemes. Cost Plus cuts out these firms and charges a flat 15% markup on medication, plus pharmacy and shipping fees.
The “Big Three” pharmacy benefit managers — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx — are owned by companies that also control pharmacies and insurance companies, raising the potential for anti-competitive business practices.
“(Federal Trade Commission), Department of Justice, do your job,” Cuban said. “These guys need to be broken up.”
As things stand, Cuban believes pharmacy benefit managers have outsize power over drug prices.
Even as President Donald Trump pressures drug manufacturers to lower their prices, many aren’t able to because it’s against the interests of pharmacy benefit managers, Cuban said. A drugmaker that crosses pharmacy benefit managers could get booted from the lists of covered drugs for major insurance plans.
“The biggest brand manufacturers in this country are more afraid of the PBMs… than they are of the president, and it’s not even close,” he said.
Cuban will be in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, not to dish on health care, but to serve on a panel awarding nearly $2 million in AI startup funds at an event co-hosted by Carnegie Mellon University and the AI Strike Team.