Unf*cking The Republic Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The American Drug Cartel.
In this episode, Max breaks down the biggest scandal in the healthcare industry (and that’s saying a lot). We walk through how a bunch of pencil pushing pharmacy middlemen became so powerful they bought out the biggest health insurance companies and pharmacy chains, and did it through hiking up drug prices, kickbacks and taking advantage of government contracts. This is the story of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and how they became the American Drug Cartel.
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:36
Sponsors: 00:03:14
Chapter One: The Birth of the American Drug Mafia. 00:04:47
Chapter Two: Unraveling the Supply Chain. 00:16:15
Chapter Three: Is that all? Please tell me that’s all. 00:28:09
Chapter Four: Bring it home, Max. 00:38:44
Post Show Musings: 00:45:24
Outro: 00:01:16
Resources
NAIC: Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Healthcare Dive: FTC launches investigation into PBMs; CVS, UnitedHealth, Cigna and more hit with requests for data
FTC: FTC Launches Inquiry Into Prescription Drug Middlemen Industry
Healthcare Dive: PBM practices are keeping consumers from generics savings, white paper finds
Association for Accessible Medicines: US Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report 2021
Lever News: Who’s Killing Your Independent Pharmacy?
PSSNY: PBM Basics
USC: PBMs Are Inflating the Cost of Generic Drugs. They Must Be Reined In
Jama Network: Costco v Medicare study
Frier Levitt: AUDITING PBMs
National Bureau of Economic Research: CVS Response: A world without PBMs: Unpacking the data
FTC: White House Roundtable PBMs
Yahoo Finance: 30 Largest Companies by Revenue
UNFTR Episode Resources
--
If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR
Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.
Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.
Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com) and Hold Fast (holdfastband.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."
Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.