{"podcast":{"title":"The Heart of Healthcare | A Digital Health Podcast","slug":"the-heart-of-healthcare-a-digital-health-podcast-4062107","podcast_index_feed_id":4062107,"rss_url":"https://rss.art19.com/the-heart-of-healthcare","website_url":"https://www.heartofhealthcarepodcast.com/","image_url":"https://content.production.cdn.art19.com/images/08/1b/d6/92/081bd692-3de1-47e0-8dea-f5df57735e79/a59d0ef5ad4c2db2cf3ee2e8b13f930450e607997e665411885eb022e43bf55f849eb5bc803da97cc499471b4972bde9e6a85279b2a201d1728298c8949e46f2.jpeg","author":"Massively Better Healthcare","episode_count":230,"summary":"🏆 2026 Webby Award-winning podcast. Join us every Monday for conversations with the biggest names in healthcare. Hosted by health tech veterans Halle Tecco, Michael Esquivel, and Steve Kraus. Learn more and submit your ideas for the show at the Heart of Healthcare website.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-06T12:17:59.600663+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-heart-of-healthcare-a-digital-health-podcast-4062107"},"episode":{"title":"The Chaos Of Drug Pricing in the US | GoodRx CEO Wendy Barnes","slug":"the-chaos-of-drug-pricing-in-the-us-goodrx-ceo-wendy-barnes","published_at":"2026-04-20T06:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-heart-of-healthcare-a-digital-health-podcast-4062107/the-chaos-of-drug-pricing-in-the-us-goodrx-ceo-wendy-barnes","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-heart-of-healthcare-a-digital-health-podcast-4062107","url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/34a5246a-4b2a-4445-92f1-aa66c823ec48.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","audio_url":"https://rss.art19.com/episodes/34a5246a-4b2a-4445-92f1-aa66c823ec48.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0","summary":"Nearly one billion prescriptions are abandoned at the pharmacy counter every year, often because patients are blindsided by the cost. This week, co-host Halle Tecco is joined by Wendy Barnes, President and CEO of GoodRx, to discuss the chaos of prescription drug pricing, the murky world of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and how digital tools are changing patient affordability. They break down the layered system of manufacturers, payers, and pharmacies that creates inconsistent pricing, and explore the current push for greater transparency. We cover : The cascade of drug pricing: from initial manufacturer costs and rebates to payer and pharmacy contracts, which results in vast price variability for consumers What it would take to get to price transparency in drug pricing The current pressures on PBMs, including efforts to ban \"spread\" and the practice of offshoring rebate contracting for tax advantages Why pharmacies haven’t gone online like other areas of consumer goods The future of medication access, including the growth of pharma’s direct-to-patient programs and the low current adoption of home delivery despite widespread retail pharmacy closures —  About our guest: Wendy Barnes is the President and CEO of GoodRx. She has over 30 years of leadership experience across the pharmacy and medical benefit industry. Most recently, Wendy served as CEO of RxBenefits, where she led the company in providing pharmacy benefit support to more than 2,000 self-insured clients, representing over 3 million lives. Prior to that, she served as President of Express Scripts Pharmacy, overseeing operations for 100 million beneficiaries. Her leadership spans roles at Rite Aid, Premier Inc., and the U.S. Air Force, where she served as a Medical Service Corps Officer. She holds a B.S…","meta_description":"Nearly one billion prescriptions are abandoned at the pharmacy counter every year, often because patients are blindsided by the cost. This week, co-host H…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2375,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-heart-of-healthcare-a-digital-health-podcast-4062107/episodes/the-chaos-of-drug-pricing-in-the-us-goodrx-ceo-wendy-barnes/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-heart-of-healthcare-a-digital-health-podcast-4062107/the-chaos-of-drug-pricing-in-the-us-goodrx-ceo-wendy-barnes.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}