John Michael O’Brien, PharmD, MPH

This contributor column discusses a recent study that shows the 340B Program’s explosive growth is overwhelmingly due to utilization increases, not price.

To mark the 30th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), each issue in 2025 includes reflections from a thought leader on what has changed over the past 3 decades and what’s next for managed care. The May issue features a conversation with John Michael O’Brien, PharmD, MPH, a member of AJMC’s editorial board and the president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Improving relationships between pharmaceutical makers, health systems, patients, and insurers can help to lower the price of health care for patients, according to John Michael O'Brien, PharmD, MPH.

Addressing the issues surrounding pharmacy benefit managers and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) would help to curb health care costs for patients, said John M. O'Brien, PharmD, MPH, president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council.

Managed care will continue to evolve and employers and policy makers have a responsibility to understand how to best serve their patients, according to John Michael O'Brien, PharmD, MPH.

John Michael O'Brien, PharmD, MPH, discussed the changes in managed care over the past 30 years to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care®.

This commentary explores how 2 recently published studies evaluating the clinical benefit of the FDA’s accelerated approval program for oncology drugs came to different conclusions.

This study examined employers’ understanding of rebate guarantees, dependency upon rebate dollars, and the role that pharmaceutical rebates or employer benefits consultants play in their pharmacy benefits manager selection.

The Inflation Reduction Act will likely change incentives surrounding single-indication launches and postapproval research for additional indications in small molecule drugs, affecting patient access.

In the health spending debate, what policy makers need most is an honest, realistic, and evidence-based discussion. Unfortunately, many studies in the public arena fall far short.