Talarico cites Jesus to push healthcare plan with Mark Cuban: 'What we're called to do'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Monday, August 31, 2026

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico cited the example of Jesus to promote his healthcare plan during a live podcast interview in Texas last Saturday, claiming Christ spent most of His ministry healing instead of teaching.

During a 45-minute panel discussion in Fort Worth with billionaire Mark Cuban and liberal Fox News host Jessica Tarlov, Talarico laid out his belief that the healthcare system has become predatory with the aid of the pharmaceutical industry.

He offered a personal anecdote of how he had to put exorbitantly priced insulin on his credit card after he nearly died from diabetic ketoacidosis.

.@JamesTalarico: If you go back and read the New Testament — even if you're not a Christian — go back and see what Jesus spends most of his time doing.

It's not preaching, it's not teaching. It's healing.

That is what we are called to do — whether you're religious or not — is… pic.twitter.com/7bStZYxJwu

— Team Talarico (@TeamTalaricoHQ) August 29, 2026

Cuban joined with the Democratic Texas state representative last week to lay out their plan to break up "healthcare monopolies" and reduce the cost of prescription drugs, according to CNBC. The outlet noted that Talarico cited a recent report that found 90% of all hospital beds are controlled by large hospital systems and that approximately 80% of prescriptions in the United States are processed by CVS Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum RX.

Speaking in Fort Worth, Talarico said their plan includes breaking up "big healthcare monopolies that are driving up healthcare prices for working people," allowing patients to "shop around for the cheapest medications and … count that expense against their deductions." He also called for ensuring "doctors, not insurance companies, are deciding what medications we need."

Talarico, a Presbyterian seminary student, later offered theological basis for his healthcare plan by noting that healing people was an important part of Jesus's ministry.

"If you go back and read the New Testament — even if you're not a Christian, even if you're not religious — go back and see what Jesus spends most of His time doing. It's not preaching, it's not teaching; it's healing. It's healing. And that is what we're called to do, whether you're religious or not, is ensure that our neighbors have the care that they need. And that is going to be the end result of this plan," he said.

Cuban, a political independent who founded the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company in 2022 with the aim of lowering generic prescription drug costs, threw his support behind Talarico and his healthcare goals. Addressing the consolidation of the healthcare industry has been a bipartisan concern, Cuban noted, but said that many senators he has spoken to are unwilling to co-sponsor the Break Up Big Medicine Act. The bill was introduced earlier this year by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

"If we can break up those big companies — the CVS's, the United's, et cetera — we literally could see the cost of pharmaceuticals and healthcare literally drop overnight 20, 30, 40% depending on where you live," he said. "So James said yes. So here I am and we are going to break up big medicine."

The RealClearPolitics average of polls measuring voter sentiment in the Senate race between Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton shows Talarico leading his opponent by 1.2 percentage points. Texas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in more than 30 years.