A heated debate over the U.S. healthcare system erupted on X, pitting billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) over the root causes of soaring drug prices.
What Happened: The clash, unfolding as of Friday, has reignited discussions on Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and Big Pharma's tax practices, with the Senate poised to address reform amid rising public scrutiny.
Enter Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner and founder of Cost Plus Drugs, who fired back with a pointed correction.
In a post quoting Warren, Cuban argued that PBMs--not Big Pharma--are the true culprits behind inflated drug prices.
“PBMs corrupt healthcare,” he wrote, explaining that these intermediaries control formularies and manipulate prices to maximize rebate revenue, with three major PBMs negotiating over 90% of rebates for commercial insurance plans.
Warren, in her post, had blamed pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) for charging Americans the “highest drug prices in the world” while paying “zero dollars in federal taxes.”
Citing data from her Senate Finance Committee role, Warren highlighted how these companies, alongside AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), and Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE:MRK), have exploited tax loopholes from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to shield billions in profits.
“Republicans want to make it worse. I’m fighting back,” she declared, sharing a CNBC headline and urging action against what she calls a “rigged tax system.”
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Why It Matters: Cuban has been a critic of the healthcare system, saying that it should be simple. According to him, it’s become overly complicated by big insurance companies and PBMs.
These groups, he says, act as middlemen, controlling not just the costs but also the accessibility of care.
He blames PBMs for lack of transparency, inflated specialty drug prices, rebate distortion, formulary restrictions, and “Sh–ing on” on independent pharmacies.
Some significant firms engaged in the PBM business listed in the U.S. include;
| Stocks | YTD Performance | One Year Performance |
| CVS Health Corp. (NYSE:CVS) | 51.15% | 9.57% |
| Cigna Group. (NYSE:CI) | 14.54% | -6.95% |
| UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) | -39.11% | -36.60% |
Meanwhile, here is how some pharmaceutical sector ETFs have performed;
| Pharma ETFs | YTD Performance | One Year Performance |
| VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (NASDAQ:PPH) | 1.69% | -4.48% |
| iShares US Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:IHE) | -0.49% | -1.85% |
| Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:PJP) | -3.23% | -1.64% |
| SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:XPH) | -4.06% | 2.61% |
| KraneShares MSCI All China Health Care Index ETF (NYSE:KURE) | 20.55% | 22.94% |
| First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF (NASDAQ:FTXH) | -5.44% | -6.27% |
| Direxion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical (NYSE:PILL) | -23.49% | -14.63% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were mixed in premarket on Friday. The SPY was down 0.30% at $595.67, while the QQQ was 0.015% higher at $529.07, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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