Year: 2024

Rising Drug Costs: Are Pharmacy Benefits Managers to Blame?

Rising Drug Costs: Are Pharmacy Benefits Managers to Blame?

For many Americans, the rising tide of prescription drug prices seems like a relentless force, threatening to swamp family budgets and access to health care. While pharmaceutical companies often assume public responsibility, the web of influences on drug costs is much more intricate. Today we shine our spotlight on a critical, but typically hidden, player in this system: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Rebecca Robbins, a leading investigative journalist specializing in pharmaceuticals for the New York Times, will take us on a deep dive into the world of PBMs. We will explore their role as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, insurers,…
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The mind is available, so the body doesn’t have much choice

The mind is available, so the body doesn’t have much choice

Mike Duggan and his hockey buddies were strapping on their gear one recent morning when their banter turned, as it often does, to the topic of joint replacement surgeries. Duggan, 74, the proud owner of an artificial hip, marveled at the sheer number of titanium body parts in the locker room. He nodded toward Mitch Boriskin, who was putting on a pair of skates along the opposite wall. “I don't think there's an original part to you,” Duggan said. Boriskin, 70, smiled. “Two fake knees, a spinal cord stimulator, 25 surgeries,” he began, as if he were reciting a sheet…
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AI-Powered Phones and Computers: A Convenience Boon, But a Privacy Challenge?

AI-Powered Phones and Computers: A Convenience Boon, But a Privacy Challenge?

Tech giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft are racing to develop smartphones and computers powered by artificial intelligence (AI). These devices promise to make our lives easier by automating tasks like editing photos or scheduling meetings. But there's a problem: they require a lot of data from us. More data, more convenience, less privacy? These new AI capabilities come at the cost of increased data collection. The companies envision Windows PCs taking screenshots every few seconds, iPhones merging data from various apps, and Android phones analyzing calls in real time to detect scams. This raises privacy concerns. To offer personalized…
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How architecture became one of Ukraine’s essential defenses

How architecture became one of Ukraine’s essential defenses

The Ukrainian government and army have already started major reconstruction projects. Bucha and Irpin, the devastated suburbs of Kiev, have become important construction sites. Architect Norman Foster has been hired for a new master plan for Kharkiv, whose extraordinary density of modern architecture is exposed to almost daily bombing. But this exhibition continues to focus on informal, bottom-up efforts in Ukrainian architecture. It showcases the work of architects inside and outside the country, but also some of Ukraine's most notable artists, not to mention the ravers and DJs from Kiev's world-leading electronic music scene, who have aided the reconstruction efforts…
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A Hungarian rapper’s caravan finds an unlikely new driver

A Hungarian rapper’s caravan finds an unlikely new driver

“I'm in the middle of this whole thing, and even I find it hard to explain what happened,” Mr. Toth said. “People cheer for him as if they were cheering for the Hungarian national football team.” Politics, however, destroyed Azahriah's chances of representing her country in Europe's musical equivalent of the World Cup, the Eurovision Song Contest. Authorities, alarmed by Eurovision's reputation as Europe's biggest gay event, in 2020 ended Hungary's participation in the annual competition. “It would have been amazing if I could have won Eurovision as a straight white guy,” Azahriah said. David Sajo, entertainment editor for Telex,…
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Passenger restrained with duct tape during flight risks a fine

Passenger restrained with duct tape during flight risks a fine

An American Airlines passenger who kicked and spit at flight attendants and passengers and attempted to open the cabin door before being secured to his seat with duct tape is being sued by the Federal Aviation Administration for $81,950 , the largest fine ever issued by the agency for unruly behavior. behavior. The passenger, Heather Wells, 34, of San Antonio, was traveling first class from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 7, 2021, when About an hour into the flight she ordered a Jack Daniel's and became agitated and…
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A strange rock in a box is linked to a shooting star that fell 54 years ago

A strange rock in a box is linked to a shooting star that fell 54 years ago

She and her team hunted down image negatives containing fireballs stored at the German Aerospace Center in Augsburg. After digitizing the images, the researchers estimated various parameters related to the incoming meteors, such as their masses, shapes, speeds and entry angles. Using this data, the researchers identified a dozen events that most likely produced sizable meteorites. Before 1976 only three had occurred. The team reconstructed the trajectory of each of those three fireballs and calculated where the meteorites would most likely be found. There was only one match to the location where the Ischgl meteorite was recovered. This led researchers…
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Crisis in the Middle East: the Israeli Defense Minister arrives in Washington amid tensions

Crisis in the Middle East: the Israeli Defense Minister arrives in Washington amid tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made fresh complaints on Sunday about the Biden administration's supply of munitions for the war in Gaza as his defense minister arrived in Washington to meet with senior US officials.Some Israeli media had described Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's visit, although planned in advance, as a "reconciliation" trip aimed at easing recent tensions with the country's most important ally. Netanyahu's government and the Biden administration are increasingly at odds over Israel's conduct in Gaza, and last week Netanyahu lashed out at the United States for withholding munitions.But on Sunday morning, Netanyahu redoubled his efforts. In a…
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Biden proposes eliminating medical debt from credit reports

Biden proposes eliminating medical debt from credit reports

That has changed significantly in recent years, as the three national credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Equifax and Experian – have eliminated much of that debt from credit reports. In the last two years, they stopped reporting debts less than $500 and debts less than a year in collections. According to a recent study by the Urban Institute, these changes have erased medical debt from the credit reports of millions of Americans. The percentage of Americans with unpaid healthcare bills on their credit reports dropped from 12% in August 2022 to 5% in August 2023. Americans who cleared medical debt…
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Cómo elegir mini depósitos en Panamá para tus necesidades específicas

Cómo elegir mini depósitos en Panamá para tus necesidades específicas

La popularidad de los mini depósitos en Panamá en los últimos años es realmente notable. Un número creciente de individuos prefiere estos lugares en lugar de las opciones convencionales para guardar sus pertenencias, y esto se debe, en gran medida, a las diversas ventajas que brindan los mini depósitos.Sin embargo, a pesar de su creciente popularidad, son muchas las personas que aún no se animan a dar el paso debido a la incertidumbre sobre por dónde iniciar y qué aspectos considerar. Los interesados a menudo se cuestionan si los mini depósitos están disponibles en diferentes tamaños, si es posible almacenar…
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