Little-known middlemen save money on medicines — but maybe not for you

For the past seven months, the GOP push to replace the Affordable Care Act has consumed Washington. All the while, many consumers continue to be focused on the rising costs of prescription drugs.

Pharmacy benefit managers — companies that are often unnoticed and even less understood by most consumers — hold an important place in the prescription drug-pricing pipeline. In this video, Kaiser Health News details the emergence of these multimillion-dollar corporations and the impact they have on medication costs and patients' access to these treatments.

For more information on drug pricing issues, check out this chart and these videos:

Tracking Who Makes Money On A Brand-Name Drug

Sounds Like A Good Idea? Regulating Drug Prices

The Orphan Drug Machine

KHN also offers other videos examining hot topics such as selling insurance across state lines, high-risk insurance pools, Medicare's observation care status and how the health law could be disassembled through the congressional budget reconciliation process.

KHN's coverage of prescription drug development, costs and pricing is supported in part by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and its coverage in California is funded in part by Blue Shield of California Foundation.