3 QUESTIONS, 3 HINTS. 3 ANSWERS.
November 24, 2015
1. What’s worse than not being able to afford that trip to Hawaii?
Hint:
Answer: the high cost of drugs is currently a topic of private and public national interest. A recent study found that on average, a year’s worth of a “specialty drug” in 2013 retailed at $53,384. That number is far above annual average incomes for many patients. The pharmaceutical industry argues that specialty drugs, used to treat diseases like cancer, account for only a small percentage of annual drug sales and total healthcare spending. In addition, the industry faults the study for not taking drug discounts and rebates into consideration cost-savings wise. While patients with affordable, employer-subsidized insurance plans may not bat an eye, those with no insurance or high deductibles are concerned. For the Department of Health and Human Services it is a question of effectively balancing “innovation, access and affordability.” Read more here.
2. What is the best way to preserve intentions?
Hint:
Answer: put it in writing. A California court recently ruled that given a prior written agreement, a divorced couple’s frozen embryos must be destroyed. In a contest between a proposed right to procreate and adherence to the terms and conditions of an executed consent, the written agreement triumphed. Generally speaking, courts are loathe to impose parenthood on someone who no longer wish to procreate with a particular partner. Read the details here.
3. What’s so great about plasticity?
Hint:
Answer: plasticity is one of the new ways the human brain is being distinguished from the brain of other species. Our brains are not as developed at birth, allowing the environment to have a great influence on the way our brains evolve over the years. Read the story here.