Mark Cuban thinks the U.S. is going about healthcare all wrong, and he’s not afraid to say it.
The billionaire entrepreneur, Cost Plus Drugs co-founder and part-owner of Dallas Mavericks has been on a mission to reform the healthcare system, and one of his biggest ideas is simple: make medical school free for everyone.
The U.S. spends nearly $5 trillion a year on healthcare, yet there’s a shortage of doctors, especially in primary care.
In his view, one of the biggest bottlenecks is the high cost of medical school.
He argues that for about $24 billion a year, roughly half a percent of the total healthcare budget, tuition could be eliminated for all med students.
“Would it be worth it so that we can expand — not only expand, but make med school free?” Cuban asked on the How I Doctor podcast.
“So you truly get the best of the best as opposed to the best of the people who can either afford it or are willing to take on the debt?”
As I wrote before for Benzinga, Cuban believes the math checks out.
With under 25,000 med students currently in the U.S. and an average cost per student under $100,000 per year, the idea isn’t as expensive as it sounds.
Instead of seeing it as a government expense, he frames it as a smart investment that could improve outcomes, reduce burnout, and help fix the growing doctor shortage.
Doctors Are Underpaid and Overworked
Cuban also thinks doctors should be paid more.
On the podcast, he pointed to procedures like heart transplants, where the doctor might get paid just $2,200 while the hospital charges $25,000.
“If I’m getting a heart transplant, I want that motherf***ing doctor to make $10,000,” he said. “So that he or she is paying attention and not worried about getting to the next heart transplant.”
It’s not just about paychecks. Cuban believes doctors are burdened by a system full of unnecessary complexity and profit-hungry middlemen.
From prior authorizations to facility fees to insurance-designed plans that leave doctors financially exposed, Cuban says the current model hurts both physicians and patients.
The Case for Free Tuition
Rising med school debt discourages students from choosing lower-paying but essential fields like primary care.
Eliminating that burden, Cuban says, could bring in more qualified candidates and allow them to pick specialties based on passion, not paycheck.
He also points to schools like NYU, which saw a 47% jump in applications and a 102% increase from underrepresented groups, after eliminating tuition. To Cuban, that’s proof that the idea works.
Beyond Free Med School
Cuban’s vision doesn’t stop at tuition. He wants to dismantle residency requirements, simplify billing, ban facility fees and relative value units (RVUs), and expand direct contracting between doctors and employers.
He’s even floated the idea of a virtual hospital network run by doctors, independent from big insurance.
“If you’re able to aggregate enough doctors, you can create a virtual hospital network,” he said.
“You just do what you want to do, with enough volume to pay your bills, and put all that money in your pocket.”
A Call for Simplicity and Trust
Ultimately, Cuban says healthcare isn’t complicated.
“You go to the doctor. The doctor tells you what you need. And there’s really only two questions. What’s it going to cost, and how are you going to pay for it? That’s it.”
From his pharmacy startup to his bold calls for tuition-free med school, Cuban’s message is that the system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, and it starts with trusting and investing in doctors.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Mark Cuban” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.