U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Monday released a report “exposing UnitedHealth Group’s (UHG) record of what appears to be gaming the Medicare Advantage (MA) system, turning risk adjustment into its own business and siphoning off taxpayer money in breach of the program’s original intent.”
An independent pharmacy owner replied to Grassley’s announcement on social media by writing: “Time to ban United Healthcare from participating in any Medicare program. Fraud of this level should be penalized to the maximum extent. My pharmacy would be banned for much less, why are we allowing major corporations to continue defrauding the American people?”
Time to ban United Healthcare from participating in any Medicare program.
Fraud of this level should be penalized to the maximum extent.
My pharmacy would be banned for much less, why are we allowing major corporations to continue defrauding the American people?…
— KP, Pharm.D. (@kpharmd12) January 13, 2026
Billionaire Mark Cuban, who owns Cost Plus Drugs — and who follows the independent pharmacist on X — jumped into the thread and wrote: “Make them divest all Non Insurance assets. They are Too Big To Care.”
Yes @mcuban!! Please give me a call.
We have legislation called the “Patients Over Profits Act,” it would ban insurance companies from owning medical practices.⁰
There’s a lot of big money against us — we could use all the help we can get. https://t.co/EOq1msc5vx— Pat Ryan
(@PatRyanUC) January 14, 2026
U.S. Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY) replied to Cuban: “Yes @mcuban!! Please give me a call. We have legislation called the ‘Patients Over Profits Act,’ it would ban insurance companies from owning medical practices. There’s a lot of big money against us — we could use all the help we can get.”
[NOTE: Cuban introduced Cost Plus Drugs to disrupt the pharmaceutical distribution business, and has been vocal with lawmakers in trying to reform the way insurance companies operate and to get rid of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who “manage prescription drug plan (PDP) benefits for insurers and/or employers,” as the AMA describes the role. Cuban’s mission statement reads, in part, “We started this company as an effort to disrupt the drug industry and to do our best to end ridiculous drug prices.”]
Co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Representatives
Val Hoyle (D-OR) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Ryan, the ‘Patients Over Profits Act’ has the following goals, according to a statement by the lawmakers:
- Prevents the Health and Human Services Secretary from contracting with a Medicare Advantage (MA) Organization that also owns a Medicare Part B or C provider – this would strongly disincentivize these insurance companies from owning clinics because they would not want to forego profits from MA plans
- Prevents insurance companies or their subsidiaries from owning a Medicare Part B or C provider.
- Requires insurance companies or their subsidiaries who also own Medicare Part B or C providers to divest and if they do not, a civil action can be brought by the FTC, a State Attorney General (AG), the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the Assistant AG in charge of Antitrust at DOJ.