EP488: Mark Cuban, Cora Opsahl, Trust, Simplicity, and a Chicken—Today We Talk Healthcare
Relentless Health Value
Power, Leverage, and Vertical Integration Issues
Cora and Mark explain how insurers and integrated systems use power to hide costs and protect margins at employers' expense.
Stacey Richter is joined by Mark Cuban, CEO and founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, and Cora Opsahl, Health Fund Director of the 32BJ Health Fund, to discuss pressing issues in American healthcare.
The conversation centers on the inefficiencies and complexities created by high deductible health plans and the layers of vendors self-insured employers hire to manage healthcare claims. Mark Cuban and Cora Opsahl advocate for direct contracting and increased transparency as solutions to reduce costs and improve outcomes.
They also explore the potential of simplifying the system back to a more straightforward model where healthcare prices are transparent, and patients and providers can establish trust. This episode emphasizes the importance of leadership and a proactive approach in managing healthcare costs.
If you are listening to this prior to October 9, 2025, go to the 32BJ Changing the Playbook on Hospital Prices event, where Mark Cuban will be keynoting. Cora Opsahl will also be speaking, and I will be there listening. https://32bjhealthinsights.org/2025-events/
=== LINKS === 🔗 Show Notes with all mentioned links: https://cc-lnk.com/EP488 🔗 Healthcare Industry Acronyms and Terms https://relentlesshealthvalue.com/healthcare-acronymns
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07:38 How high deductibles are creating a class of functionally uninsured people.
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15:16 "We have a fundamental reasonability problem." —Cora
16:07 EP425 with Marshall Allen.
18:25 Direct contracting versus self-funded employers.
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19:33 EP372 with Cora Opsahl.
23:53 Why the current system doesn't allow the accountability that is needed.
24:39 EP452 with Cora Opsahl.
26:34 How direct contracting gives strength back to independent practices that high deductible plans take away.
27:46 Who pays, what's the price, and where does the power lie?
31:24 EP419 with Andreas Mang.
34:45 How it comes down to power and leverage when controlling healthcare costs.
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38:35 Why putting together a network and just buying healthcare—not discounts—is not as difficult as it seems.
40:10 Why we need to stop talking about disruption and start talking about change.
40:56 EP453 with Claire Brockbank.
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44:32 EP487 (Part 1) with Kevin Lyons.
46:34 EP466 with Vivian Ho, PhD.
47:40 Why it's the incentives that are different between American hospitals and hospitals in a single-payer program.
50:25 The main takeaways from the conversation.
51:08 Why you can't fix the problems in healthcare without transparency.
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