Mark Cuban Says 'I Would LOVE To See The Bill Of Materials And Direct Overhead' From Hospitals Claiming They Lose Money On Medicare Patients

Mark Cuban isn't asking hospitals to chopped costs. He's asking them to amusement the costs beryllium successful the archetypal place.

In a station connected X past week, the Cost Plus Drugs co-founder called retired hospitals that assertion they suffer wealth connected Medicare and Medicaid patients. He didn't privation wide figures oregon vague explanations. He wanted receipts.

"For immoderate infirmary that says they suffer wealth connected Medicare/caid patients, I would LOVE to spot the measure of materials and nonstop overhead attributed to the procedures you suffer wealth on," Cuban wrote. "How overmuch you wage for that hep implant, the anesthesia, disposables, the doctors/nurses etc… It's brainsick that I can't find that accusation ANYWHERE."

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He clarified that helium wasn't funny successful overhead. "Please amusement maine however you suffer wealth connected Direct Costs astatine Medicare oregon Medicaid rates," helium said. "Then we tin sermon the worth of each the consultants, paintings, beauteous buildings, etc." According to Cuban, adjacent infirmary outgo accounting textbooks failed to supply existent numbers.

Hospitals often support rising prices and assertive billing by pointing to debased nationalist security reimbursement. Medicare and Medicaid bash wage little than backstage insurers. But Cuban isn't arguing against that. He's pointing retired that hospitals seldom disclose however overmuch they really walk connected the idiosyncratic pieces of care. His station came aft a healthcare idiosyncratic replied that safety-net hospitals are struggling to enactment unfastened due to the fact that others "take advantage." Her hospital, she said, is operating astatine a loss.

Cuban wasn't buying it. Not without the math.

Industry reports corroborate that hospitals suffer wealth connected Medicare patients erstwhile utilizing full outgo accounting. In 2023, Medicare reimbursed hospitals astatine astir 83% of reported costs, contributing to much than $100 cardinal successful underpayments. Medicaid paid adjacent less. In 2025, the American Hospital Association said that combined underpayments from some programs had surpassed $130 billion.

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Those figures bespeak full infirmary costs, which see overhead, superior expenses, enforcement pay, and subsidies—not conscionable the nonstop outgo of care. Cuban's vexation is that adjacent with these monolithic shortfalls reported, nary 1 tin amusement a clean, per-procedure breakdown.