PBMs: Hidden Cost Drivers or Cost Cutters? | Dr. Jonathon Harrison

Are Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) saving your healthcare organization money, or are they a hidden operational cost driver? In this episode of 340B Pulse, hosts Muhammad Atif and Hassaan sit down with Dr. Jonathon Harrison, President and CEO of Wellyfe, to expose the realities of traditional PBM contracts. Dr. Harrison pulls back the curtain on how vertical integration has shifted the PBM model away from saving employers money and towards retaining multiple hidden margin layers.Tune in to learn how shifting to a Direct Pharmacy Care model can immediately recover up to 60% in savings for 340B operations, and why health systems must rely on custom AI-driven reporting to truly audit their pharmacy expenditures. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- The truth behind arbitrary $8,000 "specialty drug" markups.- The 15 hidden revenue streams PBMs use to collect your margins.- Why the incoming 340B rebate pilot programs will overwhelmingly punish small FQHCs.- The top 5 non-negotiable questions every CFO must ask before their next PBM contract renewal.- How leveraging custom Agentic AI eliminates dashboard fatigue and returns actionable, CFO-grade analytics.Future-Proof Your Program with NorthArc HealthNavigating PBM contracts and mitigating operational burdens requires a sophisticated, technological approach. Explore how NorthArc's custom Agentic AI solutions can strengthen your program visibility and streamline your workflows: 🌐 [NorthArc Health](https://northarchealth.com)## Interactive Timestamps / Chapters(00:00) - Introduction to 340B Pulse & Today’s Topic(02:50) - Who is Dr. Jonathon Harrison? (06:20) - The True Intended Motive of Modern PBMs(07:39) - Why the 340B Rebate Model is Failing(09:43) - Minimum Operational Controls for Covered Entities(11:30) - Can PBMs Actually Cut Hospital Costs?(15:20) - Exposing the 15 Hidden PBM Revenue Streams(18:00) - How Rebates Distort Formulary Placement(20:13) - The Specialty Drug Markups Secret(23:20) - Why You Shouldn't Rely on "Standard Transparency"(25:00) - Top 5 Questions Every CFO Must Ask Their PBM(30:11) - Debunking the PBM "Transparency" Myth(32:00) - Defeating Dashboard Fatigue with AI(34:06) - How Organizations Recover 60% of Pharmacy Margins(35:42) - Restoring the Community Pharmacy Model