PBM’s – Their Origins and Parentage.

With the controversy swirling over insulin pricing, and sticker shock for seniors meeting deductibles on their Medicare Part D choices, it’s useful to shine a light on PBM’s – their origins and parentage. They would, of course, prefer to remain in the shadows, managing a vast array of legal kickbacks with others within the Medical-Industrial […]

The Origin Story of PBM’s.

Mike Magee Do you know the origin story of PBMs, and why they and their middlemen hold 6 of the top 25 spots in the Fortune 500? Here’s a starter course, excerpted from “CODE BLUE: Inside the Medical Industrial Complex” where the full answer resides. “When PBMs began, insurers and employers believed that this new […]

Optum-izing Paul Ellwood’s HMOs.

Paul Ellwood and Richard Burke Mike Magee According to Paul Ellwood, often labeled “The Father of the HMO”, the seeds of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were buried in a report that he delivered to the 34-year-old Assistant Secretary of Health, Phil Lee, in 1969. As Ellwood recalled in 2010, […]

Disrupter in Chief – CVS, Aetna, or Amazon?

Mike Magee In 1964, a purveyor of general merchandise based in Rhode Island, coalesced 17 locations under one entity. They were focused on market data, inventory management, and economy of scale. Within five years, they were successful enough to have 40 locations, three with in-store pharmacies. Within another decade, they had standardized their information, data, […]