Dispatch political reporters Marty Schladen and Cathy Candisky discuss local pharmacists and the impact that pharmacy benefit managers have had on them. We further talk about Clinton County resident Robert Kratzer's pharmacy business and the struggles that he has faced over the past couple of years. 

A look at several potential conflicts between members of the Kasich administration alongside some strangely friendly treatment the company's received at their erstwhile government overseers.

It happened in Ohio, New York, Iowa, Arkansas, New Jersey and possibly many other states. Giant pharmacy middleman CVS Caremark suddenly slashed reimbursements it paid community pharmacies, some of them far below pharmacists’ costs.

Columbus Dispatch projects reporter Lucas Sullivan speaks with Dave Montgomery, president of the firefighters union, on PBMs and a compound drug issue that happened in the city of Columbus. We further explain what happened with a topical pain cream, and how it costs the city more than $8,000 a prescription.

Dispatch political reporter Marty Schladen speaks with pharmacy manager Josh Cox on how pharmacy benefit managers might be keeping cancer patients from their medicine. We further discuss the process of what happens when a cancer patient comes to see Josh, and how much some of these medicines can cost. Finally, we explain what a pharmacy benefit manager is, and what struggles cancer patients face when working with PBMS.

Dispatch political reporters Cathy Candisky and Marty Schladen discuss what pharmacy-benefit managers are and how we learned about this topic. Next we talk about what the price reimbursement rates are for pharmacies and how this plays a role with CVS Caremark. Finally we mention how Medicaid is involved with this issue and what Ohio lawmakers are attempting to do about it.

Public affairs editor Darrel Rowland and Randy Ludlow speak with gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine regarding his run to become Ohio’s next governor. We discuss his current campaign and what DeWine thinks his chances of winning are. Next we talk about his campaign attack ads with Lt. Governor Mary Taylor, and talk about the nation’s drug epidemic. Finally we talk about DeWine’s thoughts on medicaid, education in the state of Ohio, and employment opportunities.

Public affairs editor Darrel Rowland and Randy Ludlow speak with Tom Steyer on his “Need to Impeach” campaign. His series of national town-hall events demanding President Donald Trump’s impeachment was kicked off in Columbus Thursday night before a crowd of more than 100 people. We further discuss what this campaign is trying to accomplish, and recap Steyer’s recent stop in Columbus. Finally, we talk about Tom’s thoughts on the Russian hacking and the influence it had on the most recent U.S. election.

Dispatch Editor Alan Miller and senior public affairs reporter Randy Ludlow discuss tips for gaining access to public records and talk about how you can best fashion your request to increase your chances of landing the information you seek. Furthermore we mention the importance of public records and explain how these records are vital to the reporting done here at the Columbus Dispatch. Finally, we discuss how we can leverage public records and explain the appeal process through the Ohio Court of Claims when records might be improperly held.

Public affairs editor Darrel Rowland and reporter Marty Schladen speak with U.S. Senate candidate Mike Gibbons on why he’s the best choice to be nominated. We further discuss what role Gibbons played in helping Donald Trump to get elected. Finally, we discuss his financial background and his own business that is an opioid treatment facility.