Americans spend hundreds of billions on prescription drugs each year. In fact, about $370 billion as of 2019. And employers in charge of healthcare plans paid for about $166 billion of that. It's middleman firms, which actually negotiate these drug prices on behalf of employers. But because they keep their data secret, companies have no idea whether they're getting a fair deal on drug prices or not. And an Axios investigation shows these intermediaries are working hard to keep it that way.

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Guests: Axios' Ben Herman and Russell Contreras.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Michael Hanf, and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.

Editor's note: This conversation was updated to correct an error. The Supreme Court conservative majority is 6-3 (not 6-4).

The complicated web of employer drug pricing