The Astonishing Healthcare Podcast

On Episode 89 of Astonishing Healthcare , we are talking about some "visual treats," as the title suggests! Our guest, Andrew Tsang, has been posting some very cool things on LinkedIn of late, including Sankey and other dynamic charts highlighting where the money flows in healthcare (from the premium dollars to the care plan members receive), and which stakeholders win or lose in different scenari...

On Episode 88 of Astonishing Healthcare , we're celebrating Women Pharmacist Day (#WPD2025) and sharing stories from four of our amazing team members: Allison Gallant, PharmD (Sr. Strategic Account Executive), Cindy Strassner, RPh (Customer Success Pharmacist), Lorece Shaw, PharmD (Sr. Director of Prior Authorization and Clinical Care), and Hope Nakazato, PharmD (VP of National Business Developmen...

In this episode of Astonishing Healthcare , return guest Libbi Green, PharmD (Manager, Formulary Operations) joins Justin Venneri for a discussion about the 2025 flu season, including the latest vaccine-related updates that employer plan sponsors and plan members need to know. We discuss the effectiveness of last year's flu vaccines, factors influencing the rates, vaccination timing, and how there...

Episode 86 of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast focuses on several pharmacy and health plan member service-related topics with Lisa Ellerhorst (Sr. Director, Customer Care Operations) and Sonia Pettis (Manager, Customer Care Operations)! Lisa and Sonia have been with Judi Health (Capital Rx) since 2020 and have helped Will Tafoya develop our unique contact center model from the ground up. Buildin...

This episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast features a unique client of ours - Andy Glade, Senior Director of Trade Operations at Valeris . We discussed how to remove financial barriers to care and streamline access to the medications people need through the use of copay cards, vouchers, and patient assistance programs (PAPs). In a rapidly evolving market, these programs play an important...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , host Justin Venneri is joined by Josh Golden, SVP of Strategy, and RFP Content Manager, Nic Bolitho, for a timely discussion about trends they're seeing in the market and how to run a better request for proposal (RFP) process to select a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) partner. Long story short, the "old way" of running a PBM RFP is broken,...

Episode 83 of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast features returning guest, Bridget Mulvenna (VP, National Business Development at Capital Rx)! We discuss specialty drugs, pharmaceutical manufacturer rebates, and the shift to biosimilars. Yes, GLP-1s come up as well (how could they not?), and Bridget explains how employer plan sponsors can consider opportunities to provide access to these medicatio...

In this episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Tracey Rollins, CPM (Sr. Director, Client Implementations) and Kristen Morgan (Director, Health Plan Implementations) join Justin Venneri in the studio for a discussion about pharmacy benefit implementations and how switching to an aligned, transparent partner can be efficient and a pleasant experience, despite the complexities involved. Tra...

This special episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast  features Congressman Jake Auchincloss, who discusses his efforts to reform pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and address systemic issues in the U.S. healthcare system to bring down costs. Representing Massachusetts' 4th district and growing up in a family of medical professionals and scientists, Rep. Auchincloss draws on his experience to...

Episode 80 of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast focuses on care navigation! Our guest, Andy Kageleiry (VP, Judi Care), explains the role of care navigation in helping health plan members (i.e., healthcare consumers) find care and navigate the complex U.S. healthcare system. He also discusses the importance of care navigation from the perspective of a plan sponsor. While everyone in the healthcar...

In this episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast,  Mike Miele, FSA, MAAA (SVP of Insured Services), joins us again for a lively discussion about a new product and the growth of level-funded pharmacy plans. What are level-funded plans? How does Capital Rx's "Capital Equilibrium" work? Listen in to hear how these plans, p ositioned between self-funded and fully insured models, offer employers...

In this episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Capital Rx's Dr. Sunil Budhrani (Chief Innovation & Medical Officer) and Mike Tate (Vice President, National Business Development) discuss the questions they are fielding from channel partners and prospects interested in Judi Health™ - the first unified medical and pharmacy solution. We explore advancements in unified claims processing a...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , host Justin Venneri sits down with Lauren Carroll, PharmD, a Senior Clinical Programs Manager at Capital Rx, to discuss Rx Retro, a pharmacist-led program that focuses on medication deprescribing to enhance patient safety, reduce adverse drug events, and improve healthcare outcomes. Lauren shares insights into how Rx Retro leverages Judi® - C...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , we discuss recent health policy news and how to bring greater transparency to health benefits programs with returning guest, Jeff Hogan, President of Upside Health Advisors. Building on our previous discussion with Jeff - How First-Movers are Taking Control of their Health Plans in 2025 - we shed more light on the “PBM boogeyman” narrative, e...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , host Justin Venneri speaks with Lindsey Butler, PharmD, Vice President & Clinical Pharmacy Consultant at Lockton, and Chris England, Vice President of National Business Development at Capital Rx. They discuss what health systems need from a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) partner, the challenges in today's market, and the opportunities...

On this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Carrie Liken (now with Snowflake) returns to the show to discuss the exceptionally rapidly evolving search landscape and Google's new AI Mode. Are websites dying as AI-powered search ascends in popularity? According to Carrie, it looks that way. She and host Justin Venneri discuss the transformative impact of AI on healthcare search and patie...

The latest episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast dives into the functionalities and real-world impact of Rx Smart Save, a low-cost alternative program designed to reduce medication costs for both patients and plan sponsors. Jackie Lolos, PharmD, and Haleh (Halls) Campbell, PharmD, join Justin Venneri in the studio for a discussion highlighting the innovation and care behind this clinical p...

On Episode 72 of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Marsha Perry, Capital Rx's Head of Benefits and Compensation, joins host Justin Venneri in the studio for a conversation about the intricacies of employee benefits, beyond pharmacy benefits! At a high level, she shares her thoughts on setting up a "well-rounded and affordable" benefits package, what should be in the benefits guide, and how to d...

This episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast features Michael Kleinrock, Director, Research Development at the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science. We explore key highlights from their most recent annual report - Understanding the Use of Medicines in the U.S. 2025 - with an eye toward implications for plan sponsors and the health benefits market. What are the key drivers of higher drug sp...

This "Best of '25!" episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast highlights Episode 58, which featured Liya Lomsadze (Director, Product Management) at Capital Rx. Liya highlights her journey from data analytics on the provider side to leading the product development of Capital Rx's Unified Claims Processing™ product, Judi Health™. We'll be back with a fresh new episode next week, but given the ac...

In this special episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Capital Rx Co-Founder and CEO, AJ Loiacono, and John Asalone, Executive Vice President of the newly formed Judi Care (former CEO of Amino Health), join Justin Venneri in the studio for a discussion about Capital Rx's acquisition of Amino , a unique care navigation company. The conversation covers everything from the background on how...

This episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast highlights two recent posters presented by Zachary Brunko, PharmD (PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Resident), and Nash Albadarin, PharmD, MBA (Associate Director, Clinical Programs Business Development), at AMCP 2025 and the 2025 PQA Annual Meeting, respectively. We won't give away the conclusions, but Zach explains the team's research on International...

This episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast  is all about Pharmacogenomics (PGx), a critical component of precision medicine that ensures the medications prescribed to patients align with their genetic makeup.. To explain everything from what PGx is and barriers to broader adoption to the future state of integrated care, Burns Blaxall, PhD (Senior Vice President of Precision Medicine at Ar...

In this episode of the  Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Justin Venneri speaks with Kristin Begley, PharmD, Chief Commercial Officer at Capital Rx, about the evolving role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and the rapidly accelerating shift in demand for an "unbundled," agnostic model. But what does unbundling mean? How does this approach help to avoid conflicts of interest? What parts of a phar...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Mike Tate, one of the newest members of Capital Rx's commercial team, joins Justin Venneri in the studio to discuss the latest challenges and innovations in the healthcare market, and how he's approaching growth opportunities "west of the Mississippi." Mike explains why his region has been relatively slow to adopt self-funding strategies comp...