Spend Too Much On Your Medications? Help Is On The Way
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Spend Too Much On Your Medications? Help Is On The Way

How is a physician supposed to know which medicine is most affordable under which insurance plan?

Fortunately, there are tools coming into use designed to help clinicians figure out patient-specific costs of any medication they prescribe. The tools (jargon alert!) are called RTBTs, for real-time benefit tools.

Puccini Was Dying Of Cancer—Hiding His Diagnosis Was A Grave Mistake

Puccini Was Dying Of Cancer—Hiding His Diagnosis Was A Grave Mistake

It would have been a difficult ending under the best of circumstances. Composing what would be his last opera, Giacomo Puccini was struggling to humanize Turandot, daughter of the Emperor and a woman of mesmerizing beauty. Early in the opera, she had cruelly disposed of a series of want-to-be suitors, beheading some and torturing others,…

Employers Are Doing a Terrible Job of Covering the Cost of Pregnancy

Employers Are Doing a Terrible Job of Covering the Cost of Pregnancy

If you get insurance through your employer, you don’t have to worry about whether insurance will cover maternity care. The company is required to do so by law. But that doesn’t mean the insurer will be very generous. Because in the United States, having coverage doesn’t mean you’re well-covered. Employers are increasingly corralling their employees into high…

American Physicians Lack Diversity— Here’s One Way to Change That
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American Physicians Lack Diversity— Here’s One Way to Change That

African Americans make up 13% of the country’s population, but only 4% of American physicians are black. This lack of racial diversity in the profession is tragic, denying this prestigious career to many worthy people and undermining the health of many African Americans, who are more likely to receive important medical services when they’re cared for by black…

Pandemics and Overdoses: COVID-19 May Worsen Our Opioid Epidemic
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Pandemics and Overdoses: COVID-19 May Worsen Our Opioid Epidemic

The novel coronavirus has decimated our economy at the same time as it has directly threatened our health. As if that weren’t bad enough, the economic damage Covid-19 is causing could have an indirect impact on our health. Consider what we already know about economic downturns and opioid overdoses. A research team led by Atheendar…