Mark Cuban says AI risks making US healthcare worse by fueling an arms race with insurers (www.businessinsider.com)

Mark Cuban has raised concerns that AI may exacerbate issues within the U.S. healthcare system rather than solve them. He argues that while AI tools can assist doctors, insurers and other intermediaries could use the same technology to complicate and raise costs for both healthcare providers and patients. Cuban emphasizes that these intermediaries, driven by profit motives, already consume a substantial portion of doctors' time—up to 25%—by creating obstacles in care delivery. He illustrated this ongoing “AI vs. AI” conflict, where corporations deploy AI to manipulate contracts, while hospitals hire agents to counteract these efforts, ultimately raising operational costs. Cuban believes that instead of simply incorporating AI into the existing framework, businesses should leverage AI to negotiate directly with healthcare providers, effectively bypassing middlemen like insurers. Without addressing the role of these intermediaries, he argues, AI alone cannot rectify the fundamental issues plaguing healthcare. His insights challenge the assumption that AI will inevitably improve outcomes in healthcare, highlighting the necessity for systemic change in the way healthcare is structured and financed.