With pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers launching more high-cost specialty drugs and the insurance industry increasing the use of more restrictive barriers to access, those who need these medicines—the patients themselves—are caught in the middle, not only shouldering the cost of higher copays and deductibles, but for many, rationing or even abandoning treatment altogether.
While manufacturers invest in programs to help navigate the challenges impeding access and affordability, the entire healthcare industry can agree -- the status quo is unsustainable. There has to be a better way. And two industry veterans have joined forces to co-host a new interview-focused podcast to help shape the future of patient access and affordability.
The Future of Hub Services: What’s Changing and Why It Matters
Casey Cormier, Stratis Group
Emily Gibb, Novartis
Stratis Group | Nexus Health
Novartis
Breaking Down Barriers: An Interview with Peyton Howell
An Interview with Kathryn Carey, President, Optum Rx Pharmacy Benefit Manager
One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Medicaid Work Requirements
340B Drug Pricing Program
Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (Maximum Fair Price)
Most Favored Nation Drug Pricing
KFF: Copay Adjustment Programs (Accumulators and Maximizers)
15 Jul 2026
An Interview with Kathryn Carey, President, Optum Rx Pharmacy Benefit Manager
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
Questions or comments?
Email us at comments@prescriptionforbetteraccess.com.
Find us on social media! Follow us on X, LinkedIn, YouTube and Threads.
20 May 2026
Inside PhRMA: An Interview with Stephen Ubl, President and CEO, PhRMA
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 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveubl/)
PhRMA (https://phrma.org/)
PhRMA Leadership Transition (https://www.phrma.org/resources/phrma-president-ceo-steve-ubl-announces-plans-for-leadership-transition)
PhRMA 3 Announcements (https://phrma.org/resources/phrma-announces-major-actions-as-part-of-industry-s-commitment-to-american-patients-and-workers)
Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT) (https://www.phrma.org/resources/mat-one-pager)
America’s Medicines (https://americasmedicines.com/)
Jim Collins, Building Companies to Last (https://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/building-companies.html)
FTC Settlement with Express Scripts (https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/02/ftc-secures-landmark-settlement-express-scripts-lower-drug-costs-american-patients)
IQVIA Data: Prior Authorization and Associated Delays and Denials of Branded Medication Dispensation (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13090851/)
Most Favored Nation Drug Pricing (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11319)
340B Drug Pricing Program (https://www.hrsa.gov/opa)
New York Times: How a Hospital Chain Used a Poor Neighborhood to Turn Huge Profits (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/health/bon-secours-mercy-health-profit-poor-neighborhood.html)
Hatch-Waxman Act (https://phrma.org/blog/40-years-of-hatch-waxman-what-is-the-hatch-waxman-act)
Questions or comments?
Email us at comments@prescriptionforbetteraccess.com (mailto:comments@prescriptionforbetteraccess.com).
Find us on social media! Follow us on X (https://twitter.com/RX4BetterAccess), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rxbetteraccess/), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmufvyPSLLqaXWCfX7TiEw) and Threads (https://www.threads.net/@prescriptionforbetteraccess).
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
2,462
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
20 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
19 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 48 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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