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Mark Cuban urges stockholders in insurers to push divestment
Cuban said 61% of Americans own stocks directly or indirectly and pointed to index funds that hold major insurers, including positions listed in Vanguard Total Stock Market funds.
Mark Cuban argued that many retirement savers may be indirectly supporting large health insurers, saying a 401(k) or broad index fund can tie investors to the broader U.S. health care cost problem. In a post on X, he said owners of funds that hold major insurance carriers are “part of the cost of health care problem,” and urged investors to press for divestment from those insurers.
Cuban told followers to instruct funds they own that they will sell if the funds do not divest their interests in major insurance companies. He added that 61% of Americans own stocks directly or indirectly, citing Gallup reporting, which he said found that 62% of Americans owned stocks in 2025.
The article points to Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund as an example, noting it is available as a mutual fund and an ETF and that a March 2026 filing showed positions in UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Cigna, Elevance Health, Humana, and Centene. It also cites KFF data that the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage reached $26,993 in 2025, with workers contributing an average of $6,850.
Cuban argued that insurers contribute to those costs through their claims and payment practices, alleging behaviors such as underpaying, late paying, and delaying or denying claims, and saying insurers may hold premiums longer to earn interest. The piece also references an HHS Office of the Inspector General review of denials from 2022, though the excerpt does not provide further findings.