This podcast is part of a series unpacking harmful pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices. The series will inform listeners about PBMs’ influence over nearly all aspects of patient care and the profession of pharmacy. The series will also identify key resources and strategies enabling pharmacy professionals to engage in effective advocacy efforts to achieve meaningful PBM reform.
This episode provides a high-level overview of key findings and conclusions from the Federal Trade Commission’s Report Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful Middlemen Inflating Drug Costs and Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies. The speakers will also discuss how the report can be leveraged to fight back against PBM practices that strain patient affordability, jeopardize patient safety, and imperil pharmacy sustainability.
Kyle Robb, PharmD is director of State Policy & Advocacy at ASHP. Kyle supports ASHP members and State Affiliates as they seek to advance the practice of pharmacy through engagement with state government.
Prior to working at ASHP, Kyle was a pharmacist at the University of Virginia Health System and a health policy fellow on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. 
Tom Kraus, JD, (he/him) is vice president for government relations at ASHP. He is a graduate of University of Michigan (BS Biology), Georgetown University Law Center (Doctor of Law), and The Johns Hopkins University (MHS, Health Policy). Tom previously served as the chief of staff and associate commissioner for legislation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He was also a senior policy advisor to Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. Tom Harkin on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where he served as Deputy Staff Director for Health. 
