In August 2025, billionaire entrepreneur and prescription drug marketplace founder Mark Cuban wrote on X, “If the restrictions on junk foods increased significantly, I would absolutely push for more SNAP benefits.”
He was referring to proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would allow states to restrict the use of SNAP funds for the purchase of unhealthy foods like candy and soda. The USDA reported that after President Donald Trump’s 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enshrined those changes, nearly half of the states have implemented such restrictions.
So, should lawmakers follow Cuban’s advice and increase SNAP benefits to promote healthy living and reduce healthcare costs?
GOBankingRates spoke with a doctor and healthcare entrepreneur who served as a surgeon for the San Diego Chargers before launching a $250 million medical business who thinks that Cuban is onto something. Here’s what he said.
Math and Morality in the Trillion-Dollar Healthcare Business
“[I have] felt the weight of preventable disease in hospital operating rooms and balance sheets,” said Dr. James Chao, chief medical officer and co-founder of VedaNu Wellness.
In this case, he believes the numbers are an easy sell.
“The math Marc Cuban is laying out actually holds up if you look at this purely from a return-on-investment standpoint,” Chao said. “The U.S. spent $5.3 trillion on healthcare in 2024. In 2022, we spent $412.9 billion annually on diabetes alone and diet-related chronic conditions like heart disease cost hundreds of billions more.”
Conversely, he said increasing SNAP benefits by 15% to 20% would cost roughly $14 billion to $19 billion annually at current benefit payout levels — a veritable drop in the bucket compared to the cost of diet-related diseases.
For Many, the Real Risk Is Not Poor Nutrition, It’s Malnutrition
Chao stated that eliminating junk food without boosting benefits might force recipients to eat better, but taking cookies away from low-income children won’t matter if they don’t have enough to eat, which many Americans simply don’t.
A Washington Post report found that malnutrition is the fastest-rising cause of death in the United States by far, with rates soaring sixfold in the past decade to be roughly on par with arterial disease.
“Currently, the average SNAP benefit per person, per day is $6.17 or $188 per month, according to USDA FY2026 proposals,” Chao said. “If benefits do not increase, families will consume less food overall, leading to increased nutrition deficiencies and increased ER visits. Taxpayers will ultimately pay more through ER bills and chronic disease management than they ever would have by increasing benefits by a few bucks a month.”
‘Food Is Medicine’
In the same tweet, Cuban wrote, “Food is medicine.”
Chao agreed — and not just philosophically.
He cited an initiative from Geisinger Health called Fresh Food Farmacy, which provides free nutritious meals to food-insecure patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Its slogan is: “Using food as medicine.”
“The program lowered participants’ HbA1c by two points, on average,” Chao explained. “Published research surrounding the program demonstrates $8,000 to $12,000 in savings for every point lowered, 27% less ER utilization and 70% less hospital readmissions. Real healthcare operations have demonstrated the thesis: Spending more money on nutrition now lowers costs later.”
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Mark Cuban Says SNAP Could Be Better If These Changes Happen — a Healthcare Doctor Weighs In
