On/Offcall: Revisiting the Moment When Mark Cuban Torched the U.S. Healthcare System

Welcome back to On/Offcall!

As we wrap up 2025, we wanted to revisit one of the spiciest episodes of How I Doctor this year: When Mark Cuban torched the broken medical system and called out the “criminal” behavior of insurance companies and other bad actors in healthcare. “The bad guys are anybody who complicates it, because that’s where all physicians start to get away from just doing medicine,” he shared.

Our cofounder Dr. Graham Walker didn’t just bring Mark on the show because he’s famous. He brought him on because he gives a damn, and he’s actually doing something to fix the system through his company Cost Plus Drugs and beyond. If you missed this one, now’s your chance to hear Mark and Graham go deep on:

👉 Why physicians are getting screwed and underpaid.
👉 How he'd criminalize insurance company abuse.
👉 His fix for prior auths, hospital pricing, and the physician shortage.
👉 The healthcare idea he would fund on Shark Tank.
👉 Why he still believes in physicians.

📣 Whether it’s your first listen or your second, you don’t want to sleep on this episode. Listen here.

Know someone who would benefit from joining us? Help us grow our tent by forwarding this newsletter to your physician colleagues and subscribing here.

Best Things to Read This Week

Explosive growth of doctors choosing direct primary care (NBC News, h/t Kenneth Qiu here)
What was a niche aspect of medical care just a few years ago has exploded to thousands of practices across the country.

For the first time in over 60 years, the gender pay gap widened 2 years in a row (CNBC)
The average woman who worked full-time year-round in 2024 was paid just 81 cents for every $1 paid to a man. Also see Offcall’s data on the same topic here.

A running list of states and localities that require employers to disclose pay or pay ranges (HR Dive)
A new front has emerged in state and local governments’ attempts to address pay inequity.

Highlights From Our Community

Each week, we celebrate career milestones, launches, & other goings-on in the physician community. Have something to promote? Reply and we’ll feature you.

🩺 Great episode, Stacey Richter
Host of the Relentless Health Value podcast Stacey Richter spoke with J. Michael Connors about the cost of healthcare in the U.S. and why so few hospitals can provide unit cost accounting for the cost of goods/labor for any given service. Listen to the episode here.

👏 Thanks for sharing, Caleb Masterson
ENT physician Dr. Caleb Masterson shared a provocative breakdown of medicine in 1995 vs. medicine in 2025 (and why doctors are actually burned out). Watch it here.

👍 Way to go, Jeremiah Whittington 
Dr. Jeremiah Whittington penned a thought-provoking op-ed about choosing your specialty, and why too many doctors end up regretting the one they chose in their 30s. Read it here.

🙌 Such an important reminder, Graham Walker
Graham shared his heartfelt reflections on working over the holidays and why his father’s wise words “The holidays aren’t always a happy time for everyone, Graham” ring so true today. Read them here.

📖 Read their 2025 reflections and 2026 predictions! 
Thanks to all for sharing (please tag @ Offcall in your own so we can feature you next week). See Dr. Aditi Joshi’s here, Dr. Benjamin Schwartz’s here, Dr. Robert Pearl’s here, Graham’s here, and Dr. Uche Blackstock’s here.

👍 Well stated, Josh McGough
Dr. Josh McGough reflected on the dichotomy between patients – who may not love the idea of AI listening in on their conversations with their doctor – and the fact that these tools save time day to day. Read it here.

🎧 And finally, go listen to the episode, Cheryl Martin
Dr. Cheryl Martin interviewed Graham about his work as a physician entrepreneur with Offcall and MDCalc, how to create more opportunities for intrapreneurship, and the perils and promise of AI in healthcare. Listen to it here.

Be Sure to Sign Up for Offcall!

At Offcall, we believe physicians deserve to be heard, valued, and treated fairly. Everything we do is driven by our commitment to empowering doctors with accurate, reliable, and trustworthy data — to advocate confidently for themselves and ensure their compensation truly reflects their worth.

Learn more and sign up here

Did Someone Share On/Offcall With You?

Thanks for reading. Each week, we bring the latest news, information, financial and career tips, and dose of inspiration to your inbox. Our community is growing fast! Join us by subscribing to this newsletter. And please be sure to forward this newsletter to your colleagues and friends. Thank you!

Subscribe