Texas State Senate candidate James Talarico (D-TX) speaks at a campaign rally in Houston, Texas on March 2, 2026. Talarico is traveling to various locations around the state in preparation for tomorrow’s primary election.
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Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is rolling out a new plan to break up what he calls a medical monopoly and lower the cost of prescription drugs. This was first shared by CNBC. And he’s teaming up with entrepreneur Mark Cuban to launch it.
Talarico, a Texas congressman who is running against state Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 election cycle, will appear with Cuban at a live event and podcast recording in Fort Worth on Saturday to discuss his plans.
“Mark and I agree that the time has come to break up the big pharmaceutical monopolies that control our broken health care system,” Talarico said in a statement to CNBC. “Healthcare corporations deceive us, hike up our premiums, and profit from our pain. This plan will break up the monopoly, reduce medical debt, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and allow doctors, not insurance companies, to decide what drugs patients need.”
Talarico is seeking to become the first Democrat to be elected statewide in Texas since 1994, in a seat critical to his party’s bid to wrest the Senate majority from Republicans. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter calls the race a “close race,” with recent polls showing Talarico and Paxton tied.
Democrats across the country are hammering home a cost-of-living message heading into the November election, criticizing President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled House and Senate for enacting policies they say are hurting the economy and raising prices.
Talarico takes a similar approach to health care, arguing that consolidation is driving up the costs of health insurance and health care. A small physician-run clinic is acquired by a large hospital group. And the profits of major insurance companies will skyrocket.
He cited a recent report that found that 90% of all hospital beds are managed by large hospital systems, with only three pharmacy benefit managers. CVS care mark, Cigna’s Express Script and united health groupOptum RX — fills approximately 80% of prescriptions nationwide.
In announcing the plan, Talarico voiced support for antitrust laws and said it would target vertically integrated health care conglomerates such as pharmacy benefit managers, insurance companies and hospital networks.
According to the announcement, it would prohibit PBMs from concealing price data, create incentives for the development and approval of generic drugs, and cap out-of-pocket costs.
Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur who founded Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company in 2022 and is focused on lowering consumer costs of generic prescription drugs by cutting out PBMs and negotiating directly with drug manufacturers, speaks favorably about Talarico.
Mark Cuban, co-founder of Cost Plus Drugs, arrives at a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Aging on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Stephanie Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Appearing on the Pivot podcast with Carla Swisher and Scott Galloway on August 21, Cuban called Talarico “honest” and said he would “do the right thing, not be politically opportunistic.”
Cuban said in a statement that Talarico’s health plan “breaks medical monopolies and lowers drug prices.”
“I have long worked to lower health care costs for everyone, but politicians in Washington have not. Republicans, Democrats, independents alike want more affordable, higher quality health care. The plan James put together will accomplish just that, and that’s why I support it,” Cuban continued.
Disclosure: CNBC owns exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank,” on which Mark Cuban appears as a panelist.
