In this episode, we sit down with Kathryn Carey, President, Optum Rx Pharmacy Benefit Manager, to discuss one of the most significant shifts underway in the pharmacy benefit management industry. We explore their new transparent, fixed-fee model, what is driving it, and what it actually means for patients, providers, pharmacies, and manufacturers. We also examine Optum Rx’s digital tools and how they are reshaping the prescribing experience, and the broader effort to reduce friction in patient access. At its core, this is a conversation about whether these changes are early stages of a new model for how medicines are accessed and paid for in the United States.

• Optum Rx

• New PMPM Model

• PBMs Explained

• PreCheck Prior Authorization

• PreCheck MyScript

• Shop MyScript

• Price Edge

• Price Wise

• Savings IQ

• Critical Drug Affordability Program
  

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In this episode, we interview Stephen Ubl, President and CEO of PhRMA, to discuss what is happening across the industry at a time of significant change. We talk about biopharma’s continued commitment to innovation, what member companies are doing to help patients access medicines more directly, and how new tools from the organization are supporting patient affordability. We also cover the impact of policies like the IRA and MFN, along with the growing focus on PBM reform and other structural challenges in the system. It is a wide-ranging conversation about where the industry is headed and what it will take to ensure the country continues to lead the world in bringing new treatments to patients in need.

• Steve Ubl, CEO of PhRMA
• PhRMA
• PhRMA Leadership Transition
• PhRMA 3 Announcements
• Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT)
• America’s Medicines
• Jim Collins, Building Companies to Last
• FTC Settlement with Express Scripts
• IQVIA Data: Prior Authorization and Associated Delays and Denials of Branded Medication Dispensation
• Most Favored Nation Drug Pricing
• 340B Drug Pricing Program
• New York Times: How a Hospital Chain Used a Poor Neighborhood to Turn Huge Profits
• Hatch-Waxman Act

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In this episode, we sit down with Alexander Hardy, President and CEO of BioMarin, to talk about his path to leading one of the world's premier rare disease companies. Alexander reflects on his experience across small molecules, biologics, oncology, and rare diseases, and how his work in access and patient services has shaped his thinking about leadership. We discuss the policy environment coming out of Washington — including the IRA and other pricing reforms — and how those factors influence long-term innovation and investment decisions. We also explore the real-world challenges facing rare disease patients, employer concerns about high-cost therapies, and what needs to change over the next five years to improve access and affordability.

• Alexander Hardy
• PathoGenesis
• Eli Lilly | GSK | Novartis
• Genentech — Access Solutions
• BioMarin — Rare Connections
• AUTHrd Act of 2026 (part of the EPIC Act, HR 1492/S832) — pending before Congress
• Health Technology Assessments in Rare Diseases

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