President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on health care and drug pricing, signed Tuesday, is making waves, even among his fiercest critics.
The order targets prescription drug costs, transparency in health care pricing, and pharmacy benefit manager reforms, as detailed by CNN.
One surprising supporter is billionaire Mark Cuban, a longtime Trump adversary.
Cuban took to social media platform X Wednesday to laud the executive order, saying it “could save hundreds of billions:”
Gotta be honest. The @realDonaldTrump EO on healthcare and in particular, drug pricing could save hundreds of billions.
Here is how:
1. Divorce formularies from PBMs. Require them to come from independent organizations with no economic incentive from the formulary
Make them…— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) April 16, 2025
“Gotta be honest,” Cuban began. “The [Donald Trump] EO on healthcare and in particular, drug pricing cpoould save hundreds of billions.
He would then go on a lengthy Twitter post (he’s certainly taking advantage of that unlimited character count that comes with the check mark he pays Elon Musk for), but more on that shortly.
It just needs to be said: This is a stunning shift for Cuban, who campaigned vigorously for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, perhaps to her dismay.
Yet now, Cuban is not only praising Trump’s health care order, but also volunteering his help. In his X post, Cuban actually put a little respect on Trump’s name, writing, “Put me in coach! I’m here to help.”
(Yes, it’s a basketball quip from the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks, but it’s still a far cry from when Cuban called Trump a “jagoff” before the 2016 presidential election.)
What’s behind this change of heart? Cuban has long been passionate about reducing medical costs, a cause he’s championed through his company, Cost Plus Drugs, which focuses on transparent drug pricing.
Trump’s order clearly aligns with Cuban’s mission to tackle inflated health care costs.
Health care expert Sally Pipes made similar arguments to Cuban’s X points in Medical Economics, highlighting some universal appeal for Trump’s policies.
Cuban calls for “radical transparency,” starting with separating formularies from pharmacy benefit managers, known as PBMs, to end profit-driven schemes that prioritize money over patient wellness.
Cuban also pushed for PBMs to share all claims data with employers, states, and manufacturers, a move Pipes noted could improve patient outcomes and cut retail pricing by up to 10 percent, savings that could clearly benefit consumers.
Another reform Cuban supported is removing the “specialty tier” for drugs. He argued there’s nothing inherently special about these drugs — they are just an excuse to jack up prices.
Cuban also advocated for eliminating confidentiality clauses that block companies from negotiating directly with manufacturers for better prices.
Pipes similarly stressed the importance of transparency in all of this.
Additionally, Cuban praised the order for stopping PBMs from pushing expensive biosimilars over cheaper alternatives, a practice Pipes says exploits patients for profit, which the order seeks to curb. Pipes explained that “middlemen” are paid based on a certain cut of savings procured, so they’re incentivized to seek out more expensive drugs to slash down more.
The order also ensures independent pharmacies are fully reimbursed for brand drugs and eliminates the Generic Cost Ratio, which Cuban and Pipes agreed harms smaller pharmacies by allowing distributors to inflate generic prices.
For Trump to win over Cuban — again, a strong Harris supporter — and a free-market advocate like Pipes, he must be doing something remarkable. Both are united in their disdain for health care’s profit-driven middlemen, and Trump’s order targets these issues head-on.
Cuban’s shift may seem suspicious, given his history with Trump, but his dedication to lowering medical costs certainly appears genuine. His work with Cost Plus Drugs has already disrupted the industry, and this order only further complements his efforts.
Cuban’s offer to assist Trump is telling. He’s not just offering empty praise — he apparently wants to actively help shape these reforms, a sign of his belief in the order’s potential.
Trump has tackled drug prices before, capping insulin copays for Medicare beneficiaries in his first term and having long pushed for price transparency, though progress stalled under ex-President Joe Biden.
Now, Trump is taking bold action again, and even critics like Cuban are taking notice. If the order succeeds, it could signal a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation and, perhaps, even elation.
Cuban’s support doesn’t erase his past criticisms of Trump, but it shows that impactful policy can bridge deep divides. Trump, whatever one may think of him, doesn’t get nearly enough credit for that when it comes to his policy-making.
This could be a step toward broader unity in addressing America’s health care challenges.
For now, Trump’s executive order is a promising move — one that has even his detractors cheering. If Cuban’s predictions hold, saving “hundreds of billions” might just be the start.
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