Justin Jasniewski, MBA | 2025 MHE Emerging Leaders in Healthcare

I was born and raised in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. One of my earliest influences was working after school in my grandparents’ cheese store, where I learned the value of hard work and the importance of giving back to the community — a lesson reinforced through my involvement with Rotary International. I earned my degree in actuarial science from Carroll University and later completed my MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, with majors in strategy, managing organizations and economics. I began my career at Serve You Rx in 2014 as a financial analyst, where I built the company’s pricing and analytics department. After earning my MBA and gaining consulting experience in KPMG’s Global Strategy group, I returned to Serve You Rx in 2020 as chief financial officer and was appointed CEO in 2022, leading the organization through the transformative growth that defines Serve You Rx today.

Turning point in your career

One of the most pivotal turning points in my career came early on, when I was doing new business underwriting at Serve You Rx. In that role, I had a front-row seat to see what employers were actually paying their PBM — and what we could offer for the exact same drugs and services. I remember preparing a proposal for an employee group of more than 1,000 individuals, where we demonstrated over 40% savings compared with their incumbent legacy Big Three PBM. The consultant was thrilled, we were scheduled to fly out for a finalist presentation, and I was at the airport, about to board my flight, ready to help them make what felt like an obvious decision.

Then the call came: The incumbent PBM had written the client a seven-
figure check simply to stay put and not consider other options. Just like that, the process was over.

That moment stuck with me. It exposed how deeply broken the system is and how many employers don’t even realize how bad the deal they’re getting really is. If a PBM can write a seven-figure check on the spot without blinking, what does that say about the pricing in the first place? That experience has shaped my mission ever since: to shine a light on these practices, give employers real choice and challenge the status quo that so often puts profits ahead of patients.

Biggest day-to-day challenges

The PBM industry is highly concentrated, with a status quo that’s deeply entrenched and incentives that often discourage real innovation. The day-to-day challenge is educating partners and pushing past these barriers to build a model that is more transparent, flexible and patient focused. True change isn’t about the newest shiny object — it’s about shifting mindsets and empowering plan sponsors to demand more from their PBM.

Top priority

Our top priority at Serve You Rx this year is to challenge the status quo of specialty drug delivery, where high costs and limited options have become the norm. By leveraging a market-driven approach and artificial intelligence, we are enabling plans and members to find the right specialty medications at the right price and from the right source — not just the one their PBM happens to own.

Change one thing about U.S. healthcare

If I could change one thing, it would be to realign financial incentives across the healthcare ecosystem to prioritize outcomes and value delivered rather than the volume of services delivered. Too much of the U.S. healthcare system rewards doing more rather than doing better, leading to a huge amount of waste, frustration and inefficiencies. Imagine what we could accomplish if payers, providers and manufacturers were all focused on improving patient health rather than maximizing the quantity of care delivered.

Book or article that everyone working in healthcare should read

I believe everyone working in healthcare should read the Federal Trade Commission’s second interim report on PBMs, particularly the section titled “Specialty Generic Drugs: A Growing Profit Center for Vertically Integrated Pharmacy Benefit Managers.” The practices explored in this report are at the heart of several high-profile ERISA [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] lawsuits against large employers like Johnson & Johnson and Wells Fargo over their PBM contracts. This report provides essential context in an industry where many PBMs, brokers and consultants operate on the fear-based question: Am I going to be next? A deeper understanding of why specialty generics are often targeted for egregious markups by legacy, spread-based PBMs equips stakeholders to move beyond fear and toward informed decision-making and proactive solutions.

Personal goal this year

I would like to complete my second triathlon.