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There is tons of stuff out there on the interweb about Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM). A lot is happening in the policy space right now, and it’s worth capturing the state of affairs. Part 1 of this series covers the market players and some industry jargon. Part 2 of the series covers the history of how PBMs became powerful and their interactions with other market players. Part 3 of the series covers the ever-evolving business model, the systemic problems, and emerging developments on the regulatory and strategy front. $350 billion are spent on prescription drugs, accounting for over 8% of the $4 trillion spent on healthcare annually in the US. Americans pay more than double the average OECD country per capita (OECD is a forum of 37 high-income, developed countries). If more people knew about this un-legislated “tax” we would have a modern-day Boston Tea Party. PBMs first emerged to manage basic pharmacy claims. Over time they evolved into complex organizations that offer soup to nuts

There is tons of stuff out there on the interweb about Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM). A lot is happening in the policy space right now, and it’s worth capturing the state of affairs. Part 1 of this series covers the market players and some industry jargon. Part 2 of the series covers the history of how PBMs became powerful and their interactions with other market players. Part 3 of the series covers the ever-evolving business model, the systemic problems, and emerging developments on the regulatory and strategy front. $350 billion are spent on prescription drugs, accounting for over 8% of th