FORT WORTH, Texas — While on a 25-mile campaign walk from Taylor, Texas, to Round Rock, Texas, James Talarico got fatigued and nauseous and went to the emergency room the next morning. There he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. When Talarico picked up his 30-day supply of insulin, he said it cost him $684.

Talarico’s diagnosis sparked ideas for lowering healthcare costs in Texas. The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate discussed his plans with businessman Mark Cuban to a crowd of more than 900 people at the Ridglea Theater on Saturday.

“ A devastating diagnosis shouldn’t mean a devastating invoice,” Talarico said.

Talarico’s plan involves breaking up large healthcare companies, allowing people to shop around for medication and lowering prescription drug prices.

In 2022, Cuban founded Cost Plus Drugs, a website created to sell generic medication at a lower price than most large pharmacies.

Cuban said he decided to partner with Talarico after Talarico agreed to sponsor the bipartisan Break Up Big Medicine Bill, that aims to lower prescription drug prices by preventing prescription drug wholesalers from owning or controlling medical provider organizations

“I believe in the free market, but this is not a free market. This is coverage by cartel,” Talarico said of the current pharmaceutical market in the U.S.

Talarico, who is a Presbyterian seminarian, has spent much of his campaign sharing his Christian faith. He said that in the Bible, Jesus spent most of his time healing others.

“That is what we are called to do — ensure that our neighbors have the care that they need,” Talarico said. “That is going to be the end result of this plan and the other healthcare policies that we’re going to fight for in Washington.”

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