{"podcast":{"title":"Health Affairs This Week","slug":"health-affairs-this-week-3424387","podcast_index_feed_id":3424387,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/health-affairs-this-week","website_url":"http://www.healthaffairs.org","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/sZd1tzHppyuZ4s5rqJjVDfIPP1M9jE2eLURMfS4BHvw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE2NjA3LzE2MDY4/MzkyNjUtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.jpg","author":"Health Affairs","episode_count":273,"summary":"Health Affairs This Week places listeners at the center of health policy’s proverbial water cooler. Join host Jeff Byers, editors from Health Affairs Publishing, and guests as they discuss health policy’s most pressing news and trends.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-15T14:21:31.138067+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/health-affairs-this-week-3424387"},"episode":{"title":"Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reforms Are (Finally) Afoot","slug":"pharmacy-benefit-manager-reforms-are-finally-afoot","published_at":"2026-02-06T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/health-affairs-this-week-3424387/pharmacy-benefit-manager-reforms-are-finally-afoot","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/health-affairs-this-week-3424387","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/aa7cba78","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/aa7cba78/9f7df689.mp3","summary":"Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to discuss the recently passed $1.2 trillion spending appropriations bill, its included reforms for pharmacy benefit managers, the latest round of drugs slated for the Medicare Drug Negotiation program, TrumpRx, the upcoming flat rate for Medicare Advantage plan rates, and more recent health policy news. Related Articles: Congress Reins In Drug Middlemen In Effort to Lower Prescription Prices ( The New York Times ) Analyzing The Drugs Selected For The 2028 Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Cycle ( Health Affairs Forefront ) The No UPCODE Act: Considering A Simple Start To A Complex Problem ( Health Affairs Forefront ) PRESS RELEASE: CMS Announces Selection of Drugs for Third Cycle of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, Including First-Ever Part B Drugs","meta_description":"Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to discuss the recently passed $1.2 trillion spending appropriations bi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":845,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/health-affairs-this-week-3424387/episodes/pharmacy-benefit-manager-reforms-are-finally-afoot/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/health-affairs-this-week-3424387/pharmacy-benefit-manager-reforms-are-finally-afoot.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}