Tag: drug price transparency
Insurance FAQs: Your Employees’ Most Asked Questions (Ep. 23)

Insurance FAQs: Your Employees’ Most Asked Questions (Ep. 23)

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What if your company could save millions on healthcare without cutting employee benefits? 

Ralph Weber pulls back the curtain and shares real-life case studies from companies that did exactly that. From nonprofits to manufacturers to hospitals, Ralph reveals how they cut costs by up to 50% without sacrificing care.

You’ll hear how one nonprofit saved $5.9 million over three years, how a hospital stopped enriching its competitors, and how self-insured strategies gave a service company total control of its spend. He also walks through the tools that made it possible: reference-based pricing, domestic tier plans, drug advocacy, MediPay, and more.

What to expect:

  • Why “one-size-fits-all” plans are failing your people
  • How reference-based pricing drives transparency and savings
  • What a hernia repair should actually cost
  • Real numbers. Real results. No fluff.
  • And more!

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Podcast title graphic for The Benefit Whisperer featuring Benjamin Jolley, discussing prescription drug pricing, PBM corruption, and spread pricing.
The Billion Dollar Drug Scam (Ep. 8)

The Billion Dollar Drug Scam (Ep. 8)

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Why Are Prescription Drugs So Expensive? The Truth About PBMs, Spread Pricing & What Employers Can Do

In this eye-opening episode of The Benefit Whisperer, host Ralph Weber sits down with pharmacist and reform advocate Benjamin Jolley to expose the hidden forces behind America’s skyrocketing prescription drug costs. 💊

From shocking stories of $1,800 bills for $140 drugs to the disturbing influence of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their spread pricing schemes, this conversation breaks down complex systems with clarity—and urgency.

🔥 Highlights include:

  • Why the U.S. pays more for drugs than almost any other nation
  • How a New Jersey benefits plan saved $1 BILLION just by rewriting its contract
  • The dangerous power of vertically integrated PBMs like CVS Caremark
  • The recent bipartisan push by 39 state Attorneys General to break up monopolies
  • How employers and CFOs can protect themselves from being held personally liable

If you’re an employer, benefits administrator, policymaker—or just someone wondering why your prescriptions are so expensive—this is a must-watch.

📌 Chapters:
 0:00 – Welcome + Prescription Drug Teaser
 0:41 – Meet Benjamin Jolley
 1:00 – Why Prescription Costs Are So High
 4:00 – What Is Spread Pricing? (Shocking Example)
 8:00 – Silencing Critics: Non-Disparagement and Audits
 13:00 – What Should Employers Be Paying Per Member?
 17:40 – 39 Attorneys General Demand PBM Reform
 21:00 – New Jersey’s $1B Savings by Rewriting a PBM Contract
 25:00 – Closing Thoughts + How to Reach Benjamin