Topics:

Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM)
Misaligned Incentives
Price Transparency 
Efficacy versus Effectiveness
Consumerism
Specialty Drugs
Drug Waste
Drug Manufacturer Rebate Steerage

 
In this episode, Michael introduces you to Mort Jorgensen, the Co-founder, and CEO of Rx’n Go, Paul Ford, the Founder of OrchestraRx and Pramod John, the CEO of VIVIO Health. Join our round table as we dive into the current state of the Pharmacy Marketplace and ideas to challenge the inefficiencies and problems in traditional Rx purchasing. 
Here’s a glance at what we discuss in this episode:

The table’s opinion about the current mergers of the largest PBMs with insurance companies and how this could impact the marketplace
The complexities and challenges with the current pharmacy purchasing structure 
How payors have zero visibility into the pricing for Generics, Brand and Specialty Drugs
How current benefit design is a part of the transparency problem 
The Pareto Principle, how it relates to drug spend and why employers need to take a more proactive stance on what drugs are allowed to be used if they want to save money
How the presence of multiple middlemen in the drug distribution system creates additional cost and inefficiency
Why our biggest problem may not be a lack of transparency, but rather an unwillingness for payors to stop doing business with the vendors who profit off of higher drug costs
Misconceptions about drug manufacturer rebates and why the impact of rebate driven drug steerage should be a greater concern than how much the drugs cost
Understanding which stakeholders benefit from drug manufacturer rebates 
Understanding that consumerism doesn’t really work when it comes to drug choice given it is usually a provider who is the one selecting the drug for the patient
The differences between efficacy versus effectiveness and why we continue to pay for drugs that do not work
How employers can reduce waste within their benefit design
How employers can protect themselves from Big Pharma and Specialty Drug costs
Why FDA approval of a drug doesn’t necessarily warrant covering it on an employer’s formulary
Why paying for bad drugs that don’t work creates a disincentive for

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