# Breaking Open the Black Box: How Transparent PBMs Are Reshaping Pharmacy Benefits with Jake Frenz, Founder & CEO of SmithRx

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-benefits-playbook-6571110/breaking-open-the-black-box-how-transparent-pbms-are-reshaping-pharmacy-benefits-with-jake-frenz-founder-ceo-of-smithrx
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-benefits-playbook-6571110/breaking-open-the-black-box-how-transparent-pbms-are-reshaping-pharmacy-benefits-with-jake-frenz-founder-ceo-of-smithrx.md
Podcast: [The Benefits Playbook](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-benefits-playbook-6571110)
Published: 2026-07-23T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://the-benefits-playbook.simplecast.com/episodes/breaking-open-the-black-box-how-transparent-pbms-are-reshaping-pharmacy-benefits-with-jake-frenz-founder-ceo-of-smithrx-IgJG7G1v
Audio file: https://afp-922686-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/17e1f0f6-c8fb-47b8-890b-336a6f1719e1/episodes/80442606-54a2-4d22-80b7-3c4712733b8d/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=17e1f0f6-c8fb-47b8-890b-336a6f1719e1&awEpisodeId=80442606-54a2-4d22-80b7-3c4712733b8d&feed=4tIcUH9M
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Duration seconds: 3182

## Resource

Pharmacy costs now represent 35 to 50% of total healthcare spend for many employers. Yet, most plan sponsors are still operating inside a black box they can't see into, let alone control. In this episode, Jake Frenz, Founder and CEO of SmithRx, breaks down how the traditional pharmacy benefit manager model became one of the most opaque and conflicted structures in all of healthcare, and what employers can actually do about it. A Marine Corps veteran turned serial healthcare entrepreneur, Jake helped build Collective Health from the ground up before launching SmithRx a decade ago, now serving 1.5 million members across 5,000 self-insured companies.

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