Cuban said he was talking to Humana about “putting together direct-to-employer programs” that would bypass traditional layers in the drug supply chain.
Move could step up pressure on middlemen
By John Tozzi Dec 05, 2025
Humana Inc. is working with billionaire Mark Cuban on a potential pharmacy partnership, Cuban and Humana’s chief executive officer said at a conference Thursday, a move that could step up pressure on larger pharmacy middlemen.
The remarks at the Forbes health care conference were light on details of the collaboration. Cuban, through his Cost Plus Drugs company, sells mail-order medications directly to consumers for transparent prices. Humana, which primarily sells Medicare health plans, is also expanding its pharmacy business through its CenterWell division.
Cuban said he was talking to Humana about “putting together direct-to-employer programs” that would bypass traditional layers in the drug supply chain.
Humana CEO Jim Rechtin said he aimed to “simplify” the process of getting drugs from manufacturers to patients. “How do you get rid of all that complexity?” he said.
Cuban has been highly critical of pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen that contract with drugmakers and pharmacies to administer drug benefits. Humana operates a PBM, but it’s smaller that the three largest competitors owned its insurance rivals.
“They deserve a lot of credit for trying to simplify,” Cuban said on stage alongside Rechtin. A Humana spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to requests for more details on the collaboration.
