Mark Cuban on why AI is the wrong job-killer target: it’s the healthcare costs, stupid

Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban believes healthcare costs, not AI, pose the most significant threat to jobs. Cuban, renowned for his involvement in the Shark Tank reality TV show and his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, has become active in the healthcare sector following the launch of his online discount pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs, in 2022.

In a recent X post, Cuban stated, "I hope people realize that for the foreseeable future, the cost of healthcare benefits will get more people fired, or not hired, than AI." His comments on AI and healthcare come as businesses prepare to pass on escalating healthcare costs to employees and increasingly scrutinize workforce composition due to AI tools.

The United States spends more on healthcare than any other nation, with expenditures reaching $5.3 trillion as of 2024, or approximately 18% of its GDP. This is almost double the $2.5 trillion spent in 2000. The U.S. spends $14,775 per person on healthcare, more than double the $7,860 spent by other high-income countries, despite some studies indicating Americans utilize healthcare less on average.

Healthcare costs have risen annually over the past five years, and Mercer, a global consulting firm, anticipates a 8.2% increase in healthcare costs per employee in 2027, the highest jump since 2003. To cope with these expenses, nearly half of large U.S. employers with 500 or more employees plan to modify medical plans, including raising deductibles or copays, which will increase employees' out-of-pocket costs.

A 2024 study by Yale's Tobin Center for Economic Policy discovered that a 1% rise in healthcare prices results in roughly a 0.4% decrease in payroll and employment at non-health sector employers. Cuban has advocated for addressing healthcare costs at the federal level, supporting the Break Up Big Medicine Act, which prohibits vertical integration in healthcare by preventing insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and major drug or medical-device wholesalers from owning medical providers.

Despite concerns about AI job displacement, a recent McKinsey Global Institute study found that only about 7% of the workforce may need new jobs due to AI, while the Budget Lab at Yale found no clear evidence of labor market disruption related to AI. Cuban argues that healthcare costs are a more significant factor in job losses than AI.