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.


Correction: A previous version of this episode misidentified the parent company of Express Scripts.

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.&nbsp; And: Experts say they play a big role in jacking up drug prices overall.&nbsp; 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:&nbsp;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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwKx7aeUu-I&amp;t=2s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ads attacking them</a>.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Web-transcript_S9Ep09_PBM-Update.docx.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Here’s a transcript of this episode</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Send your stories and questions.</a> Or call 724 ARM-N-LEG. And of course we’d love for you to <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/match/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">support this show</a>. Correction: A previous version of this episode misidentified the parent company of Express Scripts.

An Arm and a Leg is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.

If you’ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you’re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting — you’re not always helpless. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart. 

An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with KFF Health News and distributed in partnership with KUOW.

You can support An Arm and a Leg by donating at armandalegshow.com/support/

Show Credits: Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.

An Arm and a Leg&nbsp;is a podcast about why health care costs so freaking much and what we can (maybe) do about it.
If you&rsquo;ve ever been surprised by a medical bill, you&rsquo;re in good company. But as our team of seasoned journalists has learned from years of reporting &mdash; you&rsquo;re not always helpless. We don&rsquo;t have all the answers, but we&rsquo;ll offer you tools and big picture insights with plenty of humor and heart.&nbsp;
An Arm and a Leg is co-produced with <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/">KFF Health News</a> and distributed in partnership with <a href="https://www.kuow.org/">KUOW</a>.
You can support An Arm and a Leg&nbsp;by donating at <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/support/">armandalegshow.com/support/</a>
<hr>
Show Credits:&nbsp;Created, hosted, and produced by Dan Weissmann with senior producer Emily Pisacreta and engagement producer Claire Davenport, edited by Ellen Weiss. Audio wizard: Adam Raymonda. Music is by Dave Weiner and Blue Dot Sessions. Bea Bosco is our consulting director of operations. Lynne Johnson is our operations manager.

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