Nearly one billion prescriptions are abandoned at the pharmacy counter every year, often because patients are blindsided by the cost.

This week, co-host Halle Tecco is joined by Wendy Barnes, President and CEO of GoodRx, to discuss the chaos of prescription drug pricing, the murky world of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and how digital tools are changing patient affordability. They break down the layered system of manufacturers, payers, and pharmacies that creates inconsistent pricing, and explore the current push for greater transparency.

Last year, his independent pharmacy spent $13 million on brand-name drugs for patients processed by the three biggest Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) which earned a profit margin of 0.01%.

In this episode, Halle speaks with Alec Ginsberg, owner and fourth-generation pharmacist at C.O. Bigelow, the oldest surviving apothecary–pharmacy in the United States. Alec is fighting against the forces squeezing independent pharmacies and charting a course for the future of the pharmacist.

In this episode, we sit down with one of the most influential figures in government today: Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan. As the youngest FTC chair to ever be appointed, during her tenure the FTC has pushed to ban non-compete agreements, filed lawsuits against healthcare companies engaging in anti-competitive practices, and strengthened the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) to protect sensitive health data.