Carrie Berk, Phil Cowley, Anna Devere, Dan Gilman, and Dr. Anthony Wilson

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The following is opaid podcast. Iheartradios. Hosting of this podcast constitutes neither an
endorsement of the products offered or theideas expressed. Welcome to a Moment of
Zen. Time to sit back andrelax. As model, actress, mentor
and super mom, Zen SAMs takesyou on a sexy and wild ride covering

(00:20):
the latest in film, fashion,pop culture, cryptocurrency, fintech, cannabis,
and entertainment from the millennial mom's perspective. Here's your host, Zen SAMs.
Hello, my beautiful Tri State area. Happy you you're wishing you all
the very best for twenty twenty four. I'm Zen SAMs. Welcome to our
one hundred and forty fifth episode.It's always a great pleasure to spend my

(00:43):
time with you on the airwaves.Thank you for listening and interacting with me
on social media. That really doesmake it all worthwhile. Please make sure
to follow me at Zen SAMs.That's Zen with an X, not a
Z. And also remember we're liveon Traverse TV Sundays at one And of
course, all episodes of a Momentof Zen are now streaming twenty four to
seven on Kathy Ireland's Your Home TVand you can always find us, of

(01:07):
course, on our YouTube channel atZen SAMs. In our Hydration with Heart
segment brought to you by Once Upona Coconut, we're featuring journalist, influencer,
and now author, Carrie Burke.Carrie Burke is just twenty years old
and already has a life's worth ofaccomplishments under her belt. It's no wonder.
Bella magazine declared her an ambitious anddedicated boss babe, and The Wall

(01:32):
Street Journal they touted her as acommunity minded young creator in her most recent
accomplishment in her solo debut book,My Real Life rom Com. It's a
guide on how to build confidence andwrite your own relationship rules. She's going
to join me today to chat allabout that new book, dating tips,
and balancing her many many hats.In America's Favorite Pharmacist segment, brought to

(01:53):
you by Triquerature Health, we're chattingwith my contributor, pharmaceutical expert Phil Kelly
right here in studio at seven toten wor iHeart Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.
We're talking about the looming pharmaceutical crisis, rising costs of prescriptions in why Congress
is currently reviewing a new law requiringtransparency from pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers.

(02:20):
What is it that they're hiding inOur Discover Your Potential segment brought to
you by Body Aligne. I amjoined in studio right here at iHeart Headquarters
with our newest segment contributors, podcastersand authors Dan Gilman and of course writer
and podcaster and A Devere. Theirlatest venture brings things full circle with this
Discover Your Potential segment in a newyear of transformation, We're going to be

(02:44):
chatting life, love, new beginnings, and how my dear friends and co
hosts and A Devere and Dan Gilmanturned their life around. In the Going
Deep segment, we're featuring doctor AnthonyWilson, Board certified Plastic Surgeon, chatting
co two Lift for the skin yprBoxing Therapy is a top trending Google search

(03:06):
and it's incredible non invasive age reversingbenefits. Stay tuned for our Hydration with
Heart segment brought to you by OnceUpon a Coconut, featuring twenty year old
journalist, influencer and now author CarrieBurke chatting all about her real life rom
com. You're listening to a momentof Zen right here on seven to ten
WR the voice of New York iHeartRadio. We'll be right back after this.

(03:30):
A Moment of Zen is brought toyou by Kathy Ireland's Your Home TV and
their channel partners. Head to yourHome TV dot com for free family friendly
programming streaming twenty four to seven.Make It Happen with Mariah Klor, where
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(03:50):
of real estate, the charm ofa small wedding venue, and the inspiring
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(04:15):
Home TV dot Com. A Momentof Zen is brought to you by Once
Upon a Coconut one hundred percent purecoconut water. Imagine a drink that's new,
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(04:36):
Available in four refreshing flavors, purechocolate, pineapple, and sparkling with energy.
Do your taste, what's a favorand pick up some today at once
upon a Coconut dot com. Welcomeback, beautiful Tri State area. You're
listening to a moment of Zen righthere on seven to ten WR the voice
of New York iHeartRadio. I'm yourhost, Zen. Sam's up next in
our Hydration with Heart segment brought toyou by once Upon a Coconut, We're

(05:00):
featuring journalist, influencer, and nowauthor Carrie Burke. Carrie is just twenty
years old and already has a life'sworth of accomplishments under her belt. It's
no wonder. Bella Magazine, ourdear friends at Bella Magazine declares her an
ambitious and dedicated boss babe, andThe Wall Street Journal they dubbed her as
a community minded young creator. She'sverified content creator with over five million followers

(05:24):
over all of her social media platformswith a combined monthly engagement of more than
one hundred million. Carrie's currently areporter, a contributing writer for The New
York Post, Page six, HuffingtonPost, Newsweek, Decider, and so
much more. That's just to namea few. She covers topics ranging from
beauty and style to celebrity in sports. If that wasn't enough, Carrie has

(05:45):
co written Are You Ready twenty onebooks to date for three best selling children's
book series, The Cupcake Club,Fashion Academy, and Ask Emma. Her
most recent accomplishment is her solo debutbook, My Real Life Life rom Com,
which is a guide on how tobuild confidence and write your own relationship
rules. She joins me today tochat all about her new book, dating

(06:08):
tips and balancing her many roles.Welcome to the show, Superstar. Hi,
thank you so much for having me, Carrie. Oh my goodness,
you have so many accomplishments. Ijust twenty years old. You've gained so
many titles and accolades. And Iwant to talk about this latest solo venture,
My Real Life rom Com. Itjust hit shelves a few months ago.

(06:28):
And I know that writing is nothingnew to you, obviously, with
having co authored twenty one children's books, but copetting your first book, Peace,
Love and Cupcake back in twenty twelve, that was the beginning of basically
the rest is history. So howdid you discover your passion of writing and
what made you want to pursue itas a career. Well, I've always
loved writing. When I first learnedabout realistic fiction in school in second grade,

(06:53):
I just instantly fell in love withthis idea of embedding real life themes
into fictional scenarios. My mom wasa writer, she is a writer.
I've watched her as i've been growingup, type away at her computers so
passionately. So one day I camehome from school with this idea and before
we knew it, it turned intoa mother daughter book series. Because obviously

(07:15):
I was eight at the time,I could not do it all by myself,
and from there it kind of justtook off. Well, you've certainly
done a great job into turning thatpassion into a full blown career. Coming
full circle, you're almost twenty oneyears old, and that brings me back
to your newest book, My RealLife rom com So let's talk about that.
Now. This book is a resourceteens can turn too for any and

(07:36):
all questions and concerns about coming ofage and love and heartbreak. I mean,
you really sum it up nicely.But you started writing the book when
you were just sixteen years old onthe day of your first heartbreak. Now
pages of diary entries turned into whateventually became chapters. Can you share with
us more about what inspired this bookand what do you think writing this book

(07:58):
was therapeutic for you to heal fromyour own dating experiences and heartbreaks. So
when I first started writing this book, it was a form of self therapy.
As you mentioned, I'd just gonethrough my first heartbreak at age sixteen,
and I just started writing down everythingI could remember, and I put
that away during the pandemic. Iwas turning eighteen, and similarly, I

(08:18):
was worried the pandemic was going togo on for a long time and I
was going to lose all of mymemories, especially those related to love and
the lessons that I learned in love. So I revisited that one essay I
wrote when I was sixteen after myfirst heartbreak, and I started writing more
and more of those, and eventuallythose diary entries of sorts. These personal
essays turned into a book, andI realized it was so much greater than

(08:43):
just self therapy. This was somethingthat could help a lot of people.
You see, there's dating books outthere written for teenagers, but most of
them are written by experts or peoplewho are a little bit older, which
is great, but nobody understands ateenager more than a fellow teenager, especially
this unique world of dating we're in, in the age of social media and

(09:03):
in a post pandemic world. SoI just wanted to level with teenagers and
make them feel like they're not alonein their experiences and like they can relate
to me. I'm not telling themhow they should day, who they should
date, simply sharing my own experiencesand letting them take what they will from
that. It's incredible how you wereable to turn your own experiences into something
that others can learn from and specificallythat build both yourself and those around you

(09:28):
up. So I think it's fascinatingwhat you've done. Now, for those
who haven't already yet picked up yourbook, what are three dating tips you
can share with us? My numberone dating tip would be it always starts
from within. We hear all aroundus. You can't love others until you
love yourself. But what does thatreally mean. It ties in for me
personally very closely to my anxiety journey, which I talk about in detail in

(09:52):
my book. So I think whenyou're able to look at yourself in the
mirror, during those moments when youmay not feel on top of the world,
and you're able to still love yourself, that's when you can extend love
outwards. So I think number oneis just working on self love and your
mental health. Tying in closely tothat number two. Just to be unapologetically
yourself. Don't waste time trying toimpress someone who you know isn't compatible.

(10:16):
So just you know, be yourauthentic self and you'll find someone who loves
and appreciates that. And dating tipnumber three, I feel like, just
have fun with it. I feellike dating today, we put so much
pressure on ourselves to find the oneand are often like desperately seeking someone on
a dating app. But just havefun with it. I feel like,

(10:37):
especially teens, you know, whenyou're sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, these
are the times where you can exploreand learn what you like and you don't
like in a potential partner. Sojust have fun with it and allow yourself
to fall and make mistakes and justget back up again and get back into
the dating scene because you have alot of time. Oh, you are
an old soul. I'm sure youget that a lot sometimes. Sometimes I

(11:01):
listen to classic rock music a lot, so most of the times I get
it on people will say you're anold soul. Now, let's chat about
all the other hats you wear otherthan author. On top of all this,
you're a journalist, you're an influencer, you're an actor and an activist.
How do you balance and manage yourtime between all these roles? Yeah,
I get this question a lot.I feel like just finding time for

(11:22):
the things that make me happiest.When I wake up every morning, I
ask myself that question, what's goingto make me happy today? And I
prioritize that. So this morning,I love sleeping late. I sleeped like
ten thirty usually. This morning,I got my booty up at eight thirty
and I got on my peloton bikebecause I just felt like grinding on the
peloton this morning. And then Ifocused on school because I'm still a senior

(11:45):
in college. So today wasn't reallya day for tiktoking. It wasn't really
a day for writing a lot.And that's okay because there are so many
days in the week or seven daysto get everything done. So it's okay
if you prioritize certain things one dayand then the other day do everything else.
It's all about finding a balance,but most importantly, just being happy

(12:07):
and doing things you're passionate about.You sound like you are just full of
depth and knowledge. Now as agen z er, you've grown up with
great access to the Internet. Fromexperiencing Cyberbilly firsthand to becoming an influencer with
millions of followers, you've seen boththe pitfalls and potentials of the online world.
How did you gain your social mediafollowing and how do you foster a

(12:28):
safe and positive online space. Igained my social media following mostly in twenty
twenty during the pandemic. Everyone wasat home on their phones and tuning into
TikTok, so I kind of jumpedon that wave. I posted a fitness
video and overnight it just went viral. It got ten million views to date,
and I just wanted to create thisspace that tweens and teens could escape

(12:50):
to, especially since the world wasso crazy and a lot was unknown.
I wanted to give them a constantin their life and make them feel comfortable
that they could tune into my tiktoksevery day and that was the constant in
their life. They knew they couldcome and get these entertaining product reviews and
at the time, fitness videos.And in terms of creating a safe online

(13:13):
space, I mean, my contentis all positive focused. You know,
I'm smiling in like every video andjust showing fun products, keeping it light
upbeat. I love it. Ilove it. Now as a content creator,
you've collaborated with top fashion and beautybrands and lifestyle brands, including even
major platforms like Netflix and HBO,Max and Walt Disney, and I mean

(13:33):
the list goes on and on.Mac Cosmetics, Alison Olivia, Chipsilhoy Duncan,
and so much more. How doyou vet out the brands you work
with and how important is their socialimpact and activism to you? I think
most of the brands reach out tome, and I judge a brand that
I want to work with based onif I would actually use their product.

(13:56):
So, for example, you know, Disney, if Disney sends me in
on I love Disney. I'm sucha Disney girl at heart, so that
was an instant yes for me.And mac Cosmetics, I already use their
products, So stuff like that Ijust look through and I see, am
I going to actually use this product? Because I would never promote something to
my following that I would never use, regardless of how much compensation is offered

(14:18):
for the campaign. I love that. And what about social activism? Is
that important to you? Social activism? I mean I feel like for me,
the most important causes that I lookfor are mental health, anxiety,
anti bullying because that's what I've beenan activist for my whole life. So
if a company really promotes those causes, I feel like that was an added

(14:41):
plus. It's very important not onlyto promote the proper organizations that are part
of the sentiment or ethos of thecompany and even for yourself as a content
creator to align with, but it'salso important to find brands that give back.
It's extremely important today's day and ageto find companies that are socially active

(15:01):
and sustainable, which brings me fullcircle to this segment. It's the Hydration
with Heart segment and it's brought toyou by Once Upon a Coconut, and
that's one brand that I love.I love coconut water and I can't wait
for them to send you a supplyof coconut water in all their cases.
But the reason I really love thisbrand outside of just it tastes fantastic.

(15:22):
It's one thing to introduce premium coconutwater that tastes better than anything you've ever
tried before, but it's truly trulysomething else carry and even at your young
age of twenty twenty one, togive back to the communities and people that
truly need it. And that's whyfor every case of Once Upon a Coconut
sold, they donate ten percent toa charity that they select each month.
But they're very big advocates of theDown Syndrome Foundation to Florida, which I'm

(15:46):
a huge supporter of too. SoI commend you for taking a stance up
with the organizations that you stand behindand are active for, whether it's anti
bullying or mental health advocacy, becausewe need your voice as a z to
be able to have that lasting effecton generations to come, because we're all

(16:07):
getting old over here. The momsand the dads of the world and the
millennials. I used to be thecool one. Now you're the cool one,
and we're passing it on to you. So it's your voice that we're
going to be looking to. Youguys are still cool too. Give yourself
some credit. Well, you know, I do my best. Now Before
we wrap up here, what advicedo you have to aspiring young writers?
Write what you know, and thatdoesn't necessarily mean writing about your life,

(16:29):
but it's writing something that you know. Your heart is in. My heart
isn't really in fiction anymore like itused to be. That's why I wrote
my memoir. I'm slowly returning tofiction a little bit because I want to
adapt my real life rom Coom intoa television series. More to come on
that, But I feel like justfocusing on what you love and what you're
passionate about, don't write something thatyou don't enjoy, and from there you'll

(16:53):
really produce something you're proud of.You are such a go getter. I'm
so proud of you. Congratulations onall your success. I hope twenty twenty
four is your year because you surelydeserve it. Thank you so much for
coming on. Thank you that wasour Hydration with Heart segment brought to you
by Once Upon a Coconut. Thatwas the awesome journalist, influencer, and
now author Carrie Burke. Be sureto check her out on all her social

(17:15):
media platforms at Carrie Burke with twoK's and her website is Carrieburke dot com,
and definitely get your hands on acopy of her solo debut book,
My Real Life rom Com. You'relistening to a moment of Zen right here
on seven to ten WR, theVoice of New york iHeartRadio. We'll be
right back after this. A Momentof Zen is brought to you by Kathy
Ireland's Your Home TV and their channelpartners. Head to your Home TV dot

(17:38):
com for free family friendly programming streamingtwenty four to seven. Experience the thrill
of Omegaball, the collision of chaosand innovation in soccer, three teams,
three goals and NonStop action. Embracethe Revolution. Watch Omegaball on your home
TV now. Welcome back, beautifulTri State Area. You're listening to a

(18:02):
moment of Zen right here on seventen WR, the Voice of New york
iHeartRadio. I'm your host Zenzam's upnext. In America's Favorite Pharmacist segment,
brought to you by Triquarcha Health,We're chatting with pharmaceutical expert Phil Cally right
here in studio at seven ten wriHeart Radio Headquarters, right here in midtown

(18:23):
Manhattan. Happy twenty twenty four,and welcome to a fabulous new year.
Today, we're chatting about the loomingpharmaceutical crisis, rising costs of prescriptions,
and why Congress is currently reviewing anew law requiring transparency from pharmaceutical manufactures and
pharmacy benefit managers. What is itthat they're hiding now? Drug store chains

(18:45):
for decades saturated US cities, suburbs, and small towns with new stores.
Now they're closing thousands of stores,leaving gaps in communities for medicines and essentials.
Researchers find pharmacy closures lead to healthrisks, such as older adults failing
to take medication. Right Aid,the third largest standalone pharmacy chain, filed

(19:06):
for bankruptcy in December and will reportedlyclose roughly four hundred to five hundred of
its approximately twenty two hundred stores.Right Aid was undone by competition from larger
rivals. It's three point three billiondebt load and expensive legal battles for its
alleged role and fueling the opioid crisis. They said alleged. But that's some

(19:27):
food for thought. Now, CBS, Walgreens, and Right Aid are eliminating
some locations as they face rising competitionsfor these items from Amazon and big box
stores with pharmacies like Walmart and DollarGeneral in rural areas. But here to
chat more and dice right into thisis my expert at hand, pharmaceutical expert

(19:48):
Phil Kelly. Welcome to the show, Superstar. Thank you. Isn't New
York gorgeous this time of year?I love it. It's absolutely fantastic.
It's infectious, Happy twenty twenty four. Can't wait to kick this year off,
and so excited to have you instudios. So let's chat about crisis
in US pharmacy closures. So,Phil, we were talking about this just
last week. The closure of sevenpercent of CVS and Walgreens in the next

(20:12):
year is very indicative of a significantshift in the pharmacy lands in the pharmacy
landscape overall, and if you reallyreally think of it, potential reasons for
this could be multifaceted. Dissecting thisis going to take days, but it
could range from change in consumer behaviorto broader economic factors. But it would

(20:33):
be interesting to explore whether this trendis a result of increased reliance on online
pharmacies, the impact of the COVIDnineteen pandemic, or perhaps changes in insurance
reimbursement policies affecting pharmacy viability. Whatis the reason for this study shift,
Well, about ten years ago,there was this huge shift away from what
was the independent pharmacy used to be. You'd walk into the pharmacy and they

(20:53):
were owned by the guys or thegirls that were inside the stores. Then
there was this massive expansion CVS,Walgreens, riote aids with the expansion of
the Medicare payer system. Well,when that happens, you saw fifty percent
of the independent pharmacies just disappear fromthe landscape, which gave the big players
a lot more room incomes COVID nineteenand there's a lot of federal funding that

(21:15):
comes in that allows for them tocontinue to expand. Well, their margins
have dropped and so now they're withdrawingand this leaves people with nothing to do.
I mean, you've got, forthe first time ever, the people
per pharmacy is going to be increasedsubstantially, and so now you're leaving at
risk individuals and even more lower incomeareas are going to be without pharmacies at

(21:36):
all. Well, you know,when you put it like that, let's
talk about exactly what you said.What you just said, the decreasing access
ratio, because that's important. Sothe traditional ratio of eleven thousand people per
pharmacy decreasing is a very notable shiftbecause it potentially is indicating challenges and accessibility
to even healthcare services. But understandingthe causes behind this change, in my

(22:00):
opinion, is extremely crucial, andfactors obviously include the population growing and changing
demographics or shifts in health care infrastructure, but it could also be influenced by
the increasing demand for health care servicesand the need for pharmacies to adapt to
these evolving patient needs. That ratiois now moving to less access for the
first time, like you just said, since the nineteen fifties, But what

(22:22):
is actually causing the shift. Theshift comes a lot to do with margins
and cost of goods. So there'sbeen a huge push right now for transparency
within Congress, so you have alot of the prescription benefit managers like CBS
and Express Scripts have to start toshow where their margins are at, which
when they have to start showing rebateprograms, they've become less compliant to what

(22:44):
the Congress wants. That's showing witha decrease in revenue for both for all
these PBMs, and because of that, they've reduced how much they're paying pharmacies.
So now what you have is theseplaces in Colorado, in Oklahoma and
Washington, we have pharmacies walking outbecause right now, nine thousand drug errors
lead to either death or harmful effectsthat put up people in hospitals. So

(23:07):
now you have pharmacists that can't workunderneath the conditions, so the profit margins
are dropping. So instead of fixingthe problem, they're moving them all to
a single place. So you haveto do everything mel order, and that
allows for them to keep their marginshigh, but that doesn't give people what
they need when it comes to communitycare, you need the pharmacies there.
Most of the prescriptions that are beingfilled now by community pharmacists are not ones

(23:29):
that should be being filled by mailorder anyway. They're new prescriptions. They're
antibiotics, they're things that people needtoday. And now they're trying to move
it even more to a central filland keep the number, the ratio the
labor that would be inside that tobe really low, which will increase the
chances for errors. You know,this makes me. It brings to mind
an article I recently read about theretail pharmacy chains that over expanded in the

(23:53):
past, really often pushing out thelocal pharmacies in the process, right,
And the number of independent pharmacies actuallydecreased by nearly fifty percent from nineteen eighty
to twenty and twenty two. Andthis is according to McKenzie. CBS,
the largest US chain, closed twohundred and forty four stores between twenty eighteen
and twenty twenty, and in twentytwenty one it announced plans to close another

(24:15):
thousand stores by this year twenty twentyfour. So there's a lot of factors
that are contributing to this, obviously, But now this brings me into segueing
into high prescription costs in the US. So the trend of Americans paying more
for prescriptions than any other country raisesa ton of questions about the factors driving
these costs and exploring the reasons behindthis discrepancy involves examining pharmaceutical pricing models,

(24:41):
the role of insurance companies, andof course the influence of pharmaceutical manufacturers.
And additionally, the potential policy changesor market forces that might alleviate this burden
on consumers could really provide some valuableinsights. Now, fill Americans more than
any other country in the world fortheir prescriptions. Why, because corporate America

(25:03):
gets away with it. I mean, it's that simple. They like to
say it's because the regulations here areharder, or they like to give you
lots of reasons, but you've gotto keep in my ninety percent of prescriptions
that are filled inside the United Statesor generic medications, but they only make
up one quarter of the cost.So most of us, if you go
in your cabinet right now, you'lllook in there and they'll be almost all
generic medications. Those generic medications onlymake up twenty five percent of the cost.

(25:27):
It's the brand name medications that costthe most. And the rebate system
that has been for years is thething that's driven all pharmacists crazy. So
if you go in and you buyyourself a brand name medication through whatever PBM
you have, they'll come in andyou'll pay your twenty five percent. So
let's just say it's a thousand dollars, you pay two hundred and fifty dollars,
and then you go home like that'sexpensive, but at least I have

(25:48):
insurance. Well, then what happensis the manufacturers turn around and give the
prescription benefit managers a kickback. Theygive them money I don't like call.
They call them rebates. But thoserebates have never been out in the open.
So Congress for the last two yearshas been trying to push a clarity
lot, which the prescription benefit managershave said, well, we can't do
it, it's too difficult. Well, now that they've demanded, they're switching

(26:11):
over their pricing to where now it'scost of the medication plus a little bit
on top. That way they canshow clarity. Remember, though, that
clarity is only going to help onthe generic medications, and that's not where
the problem is. So the transparencyin legislation really is should we should be
focusing for the brands not just thegenerics. Now, the Congressional review of

(26:33):
a law requiring transparency, this lawthat we're talking about from manufacturers and pharmacy
benefit managers what we call PBMs,suggests concern to your point about hidden aspects
of the pharmaceutical industry, right,that's a red flag for me. And
exploring the specifics the specifics of thislegislation and understanding what information manufacturers and PBMs

(26:56):
are currently not disclosing, of course, which shed light on the need for
increased transparency. And I would thinkthat this would involve discussions around drug pricing
and strategies and rebates or even potentialconflicts of interest that impact consumer costs.
So what is it that they're reallytrying to hide and why do they need
this law? Well, it's interestingyou would need it at all. I
mean, if you have them workingindependently, there wouldn't be a need for

(27:21):
this law. So the fact thatthe manufacturers and the PBMs both don't want
this information to come out should haveput an alarm out for every person that's
out there because this increased cost.What will happen is the PBM will have
a rebate and ordered offset that themanufacturer will raise their prices, which then
will cause the PBM to want alarger rebate, and in the end it's

(27:41):
the employers, it's the government,it's everybody who's actually paying the end bill
that's suffering from this. In themeantime, your PBMs continue to show record
breaking amounts of profit. Your manufacturersare completely destroying everything. They're making so
much money. Everybody's watching their stock. Everybody invests in these stocks because they
do so well, but you shouldbe questioning who's making that stock go up

(28:03):
because these prices continue up with thereduction of the number of pharmacies and access,
which you have to remember, theseare lower income, elderly people,
people that need to be in thepharmacies, be able to talk to somebody.
The CVS announced that they expect tohave their profit margins go up by
between four and six percent just byclosing these stores and making less successibility.
It's terrible. So we have aboutfive minutes left, but let's talk about

(28:25):
cost plus model and consumer clarity.So Mark Cuban's initiative to change the way
prescriptions are paid for through the costplus model and CVS getting on board does
signal a potential paradigm shift. Sowhat does the cost plus model entail and
does it bring more transparency to prescriptionpricing? I mean I, for one,
would like to understand how this modelaligns with consumer interests and whether it

(28:47):
addresses concerns about hidden fees or unclearpricing structures. That would be valuable to
me. But what does cost plusactually mean and will this create clarity for
the consumers. We have to keepin mind that Mark Cuban is a genius,
and it's unlikely that he's doing thisout of just the goodness of his
heart. The man is too smartfor all of those things. But I
love his plan. And here's why. What it's supposed to do is there's

(29:10):
a list of drugs and it comesout from a nationalist. So the nationalist
will come out and say that eachone of these medications should cost x amount
of dollars. And then from thatlist, now the cost plus movell which
is Mark Cuban's, and then thenew care saver I believe is what's it
called with care marks. They're bothsupposed to take that list and then put
a markup above it, making itso pharmacies can function. There's a few

(29:33):
issues with that though, because we'renot looking at what it's costing mel order
pharmacies that's going to be based offthe list that is for retail pharmacies,
which means care Mark, which ownstheir own mail order system, and now
that Mark Cuban has his own mailorder system, the idea there will be
they can get their prices lower andthen still ship them out, so it
will have transparency. At the locallevel. You walk in and talk to

(29:55):
your pharmacist and she says, thisis what it costs. That's probably true.
But the mal order systems, whichthen report back to your employers and
to the federal government, their costwill be completely different. So there still
will be quite a bit of markup. And most of your major groups within
the pharmacy world doesn't believe that theconsumer will save a dime with these cost
plus systems. And what's interesting isthat earlier we talked about, you know

(30:18):
the impact of generic drugs, butyou know to the extent that generic drugs
contribute to the cost dynamic in theUS pharmaceutical market in a way where that
is the main driver. These policiesobviously are encouraging their adoption to mitigate the
costs, but really what we arereally seeking is transparency on the brand,

(30:38):
not necessarily just the generics. Fromwhat I'm understanding, and the biologics.
So anything that ends with the wordMAB that makes up three percent of all
prescriptions end with those words the biologics, and they make up almost twenty five
percent of all the costs. Andwe're not even looking at the biologics to
save money. And then in Congressthey make this magic list of ten drugs
and they think that those ten drugs, by reducing the price of those ten

(31:00):
drugs, somehow we're going to savemoney. This is all just the dog
and Pony Act. Until we reallystart looking at what brand names cost and
who's paying for the research behind it, we're never gonna drop any of the
money down. You cannot save thatmuch money off of the generic drugs.
No matter how much they change,it doesn't make enough of the cost of
goods. Boy, they must loveyou. Yeah, I'm always making friends,

(31:21):
aren't I. Yeah, Big Farmermust love pharmacists here. You know.
I think that everybody's hurting though.I think the PBMs are trying to
find a way through this system.You have. The whole system is broken,
and if you can't fix the system, all of these other things won't
work. And so I think thePBMs actually are trying to do their best
with what they have. I thinkthe manufacturers are too, But we've made
this just awful mess where this person'spaying that person, which then gives a

(31:44):
little bit over here, and thewhole thing is such a wreck. I
don't think that there's a great evilbehind it, but rather the whole system
is so broken. You're trying tofix a car that hasn't run in thirty
five years, and three of thepistons are out. I mean, at
this time, it's time to golook at a new car. Yeah.
All these payoff rebates, whatever youwant to call them. You know,
I don't think anybody's really winning.It's this counterproductive, and it's really really

(32:07):
keeping a lot of people quiet aboutthings they shouldn't be. Now we have
about one minute left. Of course, in one minute, you're great at
summing things up. But how dopharmaceutical trends and policies in other countries feel
compared to those in the US areand are there lessons or best practices that
could be applied to improve the situationdomestically? Well, the thing I really

(32:27):
like about places other than the UnitedStates is they try to bring in all
sorts of types of medicine and soplaces like Germany and the UK they work
a lot more with supplements, sogood brand name supplements like Triqueratra, where
you can use something for your bloodpressure which is substantially cheaper and natural and
nature. You can find it,you can use it, you feel good
about it because it's coming from beetrootor whatever a plan it is. And

(32:50):
then they tie that in and thenthey have a lot of clarity to where
you have the government now managing whichmedications can be on their list. If
we're really going to do this,we need to have clarity that's run by
somebody other than Corporate America that hasalready had all these you know, these
deals and going on to the side. So you can't have all these rebate
programs and have it work using naturalmedicine from supplements and then on top of

(33:15):
it adding in national formulators and thenthrowing in the mix of what we have
with the Corporate America something in between. It will work, but we have
to revent the whole system beginning toend. Boy, you have your work
cutout for you. Well, that'sthe end of this incredible segment. Phil,
Thank you so much for a verytransparent and very informative segment. I
learned a ton and I know thoseout there listening just got through a crash

(33:37):
course in pharmaceutical expertise for twenty twentyfour. It'll be good. I think
more people know they're gonna all lookat it and say, yes, this
makes sense, this totally makes sense. Well, we are at the end.
Thank you for joining us, myfriend. Thank you. That was
America's Favorite Pharmacist. Brought to youby tri Quirta Health. You can head
to tri Quiritcha Health dot com.That was Phil Kelly. You could check
them out on the gram at Phil'sMy Pharmacist. You're listening to a Moment

(33:58):
of Zen right here on seven War, the voice of New York iHeartRadio.
Happy New Year, invest for twentytwenty four. Will be right back after
this. A Moment of Zen isbrought to you by Kathy Ireland's your Home
TV and their channel partners. Headto your Home TV dot com for free
family friendly programming streaming twenty four toseven. The Kelly Williams Show is brought

(34:20):
to you by Sarendipity Yacht Cruises andEvents. Tune in and turn on You're
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(34:45):
A Moment of Zen is sponsored bybody Aligne. Are you ready for a
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(35:07):
editor dyp at checkout. Because discoveringyour potential starts with a great night's sleep.
That's bodyligne dot com. Welcome back, beautiful Tri State area. You're
listening to a Moment of Zen righthere on seven ten WR, the voice
of New york iHeartRadio. I'm yourhost, Zenzam's This is Your Year and
welcome to twenty twenty four time totransform, manifest, and grow. You're

(35:30):
listening to a moment of zen righthere on seven ten WR, the voice
of New York iHeartRadio. Up nextin our Discover Your Potential segment, brought
to you by Body Aligne, Iam joined in studio right here at iHeart
Headquarters with our newest segment contributors,podcasters, and even authors, Dan Gilman
and Anna de Vere. Their latestventure brings things full circle with this Discover

(35:55):
Your Potential segment in a new yearof transfer in. Dan and Anna have
closed the chapter on a very veryeventful year, and like so many,
they both lost their jobs and reinventedthemselves. Fortunately, they both have a
belief in the possibility that with greatchallenges come great opportunities. Dan chose to
follow in his mother's footprints and tookover as host of her thirty year old

(36:20):
radio show, Discover Your Potential andAnna, while Anna she saw her dream
pivot in joining him as co host. Her former podcast played to an audience
in the millions, but starting overgave her a chance to live her dream,
having conversations that really matter to herand Discover Your Potential finds These silver
lining specialists behind the mic with gamechangers, best selling authors, top athletes

(36:45):
and astronauts, motivational speakers, anduncommon heroes. Joining me today is Dan
and Anna to an incredible world ofpossibilities and you are going to be able
to live your full potential once youlisten to their inspiring story. Here to
chat life, love and new beginningsare my dear friends and co hosts Anna

(37:06):
Davir and Dan Gilman. Welcome tothe show, Superstars. Thank you.
Okay twenty twenty three, Anna,what an eventful year, not only for
you but for both of you.So we know that joining us here on
iHeart and WR is obviously the highand the highlight. But can you both
share a low? Anna, yougo first? Okay, this is tough.

(37:28):
I mean when we first met you, Zen, we were on Cloud
nine and coming to iHeartRadio and herein beautiful New York City from Las Vegas.
I couldn't think of a better start, and we thought we were doing
something quite different. But I alsolost my job like Dan, and hit
that low at about July, andthis was sirious Zen. And the other

(37:50):
thing is I had bootstrapped my show, the other show with millions of followers,
So when I say that I losteverything. I finished taping a show
with and my car alarm went off. Now we're remote, so here's the
car alarm go off. They weretowing my car. It got repossessed.
So I had literally spent everything Ihad and more to create this show that

(38:13):
was followed by millions of people,won lots of awards, and here I
am at the lowest of low,trying to teach people to discover their potential.
So I had that crisis moment,right, that imposter syndrome that what
do we do now? The incrediblething was that as guests kept coming on
and giving tips, my attitude shiftedand I built myself back to the place

(38:35):
that I am now, which isamazing. Oh well, if things always
tend to come full circle, Dan, I'd love to hear your low.
Oh my low was actually similar,ironically, so I actually lost my job.
I was a design director for anumber of years, and talk about
pivot. It really has showed me, Okay, this is the path I

(38:57):
should be on. And iHeart wascalling, so this is exactly where I'm
supposed to be. Well, iHeartreaches nine out of ten Americans every single
day, so the calling is real. Now, what made you lean into
your challenge when it appeared you werenot on track to manifest your dreams?
Anna, Well, I'm a mom, and the other thing you don't know

(39:17):
about me is that my daughter wentthrough an incredible challenge. She had to
learn to walk again. So rightwhen I tanked, I couldn't get a
job outside my home. The factthat it was remote made me lean in
because I'm a mom and I haveto be her support. She's now my
hero, and that is my lift, is that I leaned in hard to
show her what's possible as she's learninghow to walk again. Oh that's so

(39:40):
touching. Thank you. That's abeautiful, beautiful spin dad. What about
you? Oh? Actually, ironicallyit harkened back to my mother, so
she had as we spoke about,she did it. She produced a show
for thirty years called Discovery Your Potential. And I was just doing that part

(40:00):
time, really on the side,and this really I had a shift full
time. This was really my fulltime calling and to touch people's lives,
that's really where I'm supposed to be. Well, there are no coincidences,
my dear friend, and you areexactly where you are supposed to be.
And your mama knows this, andI hope so to you now. Now,
as you both embarked on new beginnings, you in fact both leveraged the

(40:22):
science of habit formation and behavioral psychologywithout even knowing it to navigate the challenges
of reinventing yourselves. Actually, thehabit loop, a studied by psychologists,
involves to routine and reward, andunderstanding this loop is so important to form
positive habits, and research suggests thatsuccessful habits and successful habit formation involve setting

(40:45):
specific, achievable goals and implementing themgradually, and the principles of behavioral psychology
such as operant conditioning. They providea ton of insight into how reinforcement and
positive associations can facilitate lasting behavioral changesduring times of transitions like you both have
gone through, which brings me tomy next question. So Anna, you're

(41:07):
a storyteller and a book author,and I've heard you talk about the stories
we tell ourselves that hold us back. For one, can you share something
personal that was holding you back andwhat was your breakthrough moment? So yes,
I think belief in myself was thebiggest thing holding me back, and
even during these struggles. I hadpeople in my inner circle say, Anna,

(41:29):
you're too old to choose your dreams. Well, that's just a war
cry for me because I know I'mgoing to interview people in their eighties who
are doing amazing things. But whatI'd like to say about creating habits is
I like to think that the roadbetween Heaven and Earth is a rocky road,
and you can write a skateboard andfeel every bump, or you can
learn a hoverboard, and that's yourattitude. So attitude is something I take

(41:51):
really seriously, and I just givemyself an attitude check every single morning,
knowing I don't want to feel thebumps. I know they're there, but
I can navigate that so much easierwhen I look at life as not happening
to me. But for me,that's a great, great attitude, and
that's a great lesson for those listeningfor twenty twenty four. Now, Dan,
you're following your mother's legacy without adoubt with the show she started thirty

(42:15):
years ago. What's different about yourapproach to discover your potential? So I
would say what's different is, well, when she had her show, it
was a local show, and shewas kind of a local celebrity. But
what we're trying to do is we'recreating a movement, we're creating impact and
really touching millions of lives. Andthat's I think that's the difference is she

(42:38):
wanted to do that, and that'sexactly what we're doing. Is we're going
to be touching millions of lives.And it's all about building and maintaining relationships,
right, and your mom did that. And actually, research in social
psychology underscores the importance of authentic communicationin building and maintaining relationships, and studies

(42:58):
show that deep, meaningful conversations canfoster a sense of connection and belonging,
releasing oxytocin. In fact, it'soften referred to as the love hormone.
Right, So, the power ofshared experiences and vulnerability explored in psychological studies
aligns with the idea that open communicationcontributes to stronger emotional bonds. So I

(43:21):
love what you're saying and how transparentyou're both being. Now, through your
interactions with game changers and authors andmotivational speakers, you identified some common themes
or evidence based strategies, so tospeak, that contribute to sustained personal growth.
How do these align with scientific findingson human potential? Anna, I'd

(43:43):
love to know this. So thisis a great question because you brought up
vulnerability. And one of the firstand most shocking interviews I had was with
Adora Evans. I love you,Adora. I'm not going to go into
her story, but in the firsttwo minutes she shared everything about her mess
to success and sharing and be beinga part of that, developing that oxytocin
right, I just felt like Iwas in the mix now learning from guests

(44:07):
every time. So every time I'vehad a guest, it seems like I
get better just knowing them. That'swhat we delivered to our audiences, and
that's what you can expect from ourshow. You're going to feel like you've
got personalized attention and you're building thatbond with us. It's so transformational,
it's so effective. You're such afeel good host. Thank you now,

(44:28):
Dad, What advice do you havefor us as your hottest tip for the
new year. Well, one ofthe hottest tips I would have is,
and this is something I was doing, is there's a really great book called
Breathe that I was just looking at, and that's exactly what I did through

(44:49):
my hardest times was actually just inActually mil Robbins has mentioned this. You've
taken a deep breath and you'd countdown to five, one, two,
three, four, five, andit just changes your essence. And I
would say a lot of people justdon't do that. Everybody's rushing and trying
to get their you know, holidaythings happening and after the holidays, So
just take some time and actually taketake a deep breath and understand where you're

(45:13):
going. I love that breathe.There you go, and I give us
your hottest tip. Okay, I'mso excited about MORGANA. Ray who's coming
on in February, because she's goingto talk about your relationship with money.
It's a love relationship. Her book, Financial Alchemy changed the course of my
life last year, even though manythings happen in between. I'd say,

(45:37):
go get Financial Alchemy and get readyfor the interview. That's going to rock
your world. It's potent and itwill surprise you about your relationship with money.
It's really fun too. For Valentine'sDay episode, that's a great tip.
I like that. Now we're almostat the end, but we're going
to talk about what you both leftbehind to make room for a new year

(45:57):
and a new you. Dan,what's in your rear view? You?
Scarcity? One of my biggest thingsthat I was dealing with was actually fear,
and that's going to be behind mein twenty twenty four. So Anna,
I love the roomy quote that lifeis a balance between holding on and
letting go. So I'm absolutely lettinggo of the idea that life is happening

(46:20):
to me. I like to thinkthat I'm going to live life as if
everything is rigged in my favor.So I've got a massive bucket list of
things i want to do and they'realready happening because that attitude shift. Don't
you love it that you found yourfooting? Mm hmm. It's important.
But I want to share that witheverybody because anybody can transform with just a
quick shift. It's a myth thatit has to take a lot a lot

(46:43):
of time, yes, without adoubt, And with that, we are
out of time. But I willleave you with an interesting survey from Forbes
Health and specifically one poll of onethousand US adults, and this was conducted
in October of twenty twenty three.They looked at Americans audes surrounding resolution setting
and what types of goals were prioritizedand interestingly, the survey highlighted a couple

(47:07):
of standout themes, and the mostcommonly selected year's resolution for twenty twenty four
among respondents was fitness, which contrastswith findings from the previous year because the
previous Forbes Health One poll surveyed intwenty twenty two showed that many people were
prioritizing their mental health rather than theirphysical health in their resolutions for twenty twenty

(47:29):
three, which I think as thetimes are moving and we're getting further and
further away from the COVID nineteen pandemic, we're starting to really put everything into
perspective, perspective our mental health andboth our physical health, but definitely discovering
your potential should be something that everybodyis prioritizing. Thank you both so much

(47:50):
for coming on. This was suchan incredible, transparent and feel good interview.
Thank you Zan caun't wait. Thatwas our Discover Your Potential segment brought
to you by Body a Line,and you definitely have to check them out
on the gram at Discover your Potentialshow, or you could head directly to
discover your potential dot com. Thatwas Ana Devir and Dan Gildman, podcast

(48:13):
hosts, authors and dear friends.You're listening to a moment of Zen right
here on seven ten wo R,the voice of New York iHeartRadio. Happy
twenty twenty four, Happy New Year. We'll be right back after this.
A Moment of Zen is brought toyou by Kathy Ireland's Your Home TV and
their channel partners. Head to yourHome TV dot com for free family friendly

(48:34):
programming streaming twenty four to seven.Have you ever wondered what it's like to
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(48:54):
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(49:15):
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(49:38):
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(50:00):
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(50:21):
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(50:42):
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This is at home in office hyperbarretoption topable locally invite thank you so much.
It was to a moment of Zenright here on sevent ten w O
I'm the voice in your iheartby here. That was Anthony Wilson. You're back
after this. A moment of Zenis brought to you by your Home TV.

(51:30):
Hi, this is Kathy Ireland herein a moment of Zen, brought
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(51:51):
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Please check out your home TV dotcom. Tune in to a moment
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(52:13):
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(52:35):
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Thank you for listening to a Momentof Zen. It's been an absolute pleasure
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(52:59):
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(53:21):
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