19 min listen
Wait, what’s a PBM (and how do they work)?
FromAn Arm and a Leg
ratings:
Length:
22 minutes
Released:
Jul 6, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
If you’ve been told your insurance won’t cover your meds — or that you’re gonna have to pay an arm and a leg for them — you’ve met a PBM: a pharmacy benefits manager. And: Experts say they play a big role in jacking up drug prices overall. But how, exactly? We took a deep dive.This episode first went out in 2019. We’re bringing it back because PBMs are in the news these days: Congress is targeting them, in an effort to to be seen doing something about prescription drug prices. And PBMs’ sometimes-rival, the powerful pharmaceutical industry lobby, is flooding the airwaves with ads attacking them. There’s been a little news since 2019: Although Congress is still catching up, all 50 states have passed some laws pertaining to how PBMs work. We’ve got an update on that. Here’s a transcript of this episode. Send your stories and questions. Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG.And of course we’d love for you to support this show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Released:
Jul 6, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Why are ER bills so horrible? Sarah Kliff spent a year finding out. (Season One, episode 7): Emergency rooms often bill you a “cover charge” just for walking in the door, and it can be thousands of dollars. That’s in addition to the huge markup on everything that happens there: seven bucks for a band-aid. Twenty dollars for a couple of pills. by An Arm and a Leg