A lot of things have to go right — but probably won’t — for Coloradans to achieve even modest savings by importing medicines from Canada.

Pennsylvania State Representative Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny), Chairman of the House Health Committee, should introduce legislation to make prescription medicines more affordable in Pennsylvania by creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board.

The HELP Copays Act, which will require insurance companies to apply copay cards that a patient may use to pay for their medicines towards their deductible, could lead to higher premiums and deductibles as a result of higher healthcare costs. Instead of focusing on how copay cards can be used to alleviate financial barriers, the focus should be on eliminating financial barriers.

While the excitement for the Medicare drug pricing provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act is palpable, there are more questions than answers about the potential impact on drug prices and drug utilization.

CMS must ensure that the appropriate evidence is generated, provided and reviewed for maximum fair price negotiations as they begin developing the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Inflation Reduction Act delivers on the political promise to address healthcare costs and reform prescription drug pricing in the US, it also incentives pharmaceutical innovation.

The best way to reduce drug prices is to eliminate confidential pricing and increase transparency.

Research suggests that financial incentives are effective at encouraging health-promoting behaviors including smoking cessation, vaccinations and screenings. However, there is a limit on the impact of financial incentives, with evidence indicating that effectiveness decreases as the value of the incentive increases. When people are offered a large amount of money to encourage healthy behavior, they become more skeptical of the motive. Providing financial incentives may be an effective strategy to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations initially but behavioral economics suggests that “nudging” people to get the vaccine could be a more effective strategy.

As a first generation college graduate, I am very proud of my professional accomplishments and the education that has made it possible. I have made a career out of synthesizing complex information, conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, drawing conclusions and disseminating the findings. However, in my more recent positions that have included leadership responsibilities, it has become clear to me that it’s becoming less about “what” I do, but “how” I do it.

As someone always looking for tips and tricks on how best to manage my career, I am an avid reader of Harvard Business Review (#HBR). When the HBR article entitled “How Living Abroad Helps You Develop a Clearer Sense of Self” came across my LinkedIn feed, I couldn’t read it quickly enough! As someone that lived abroad for eight years, I know that I came home with a suitcase of metaphorical souvenirs including a new perspective on why I believe what I believe, a relentless tenacity for what I deserve and a clearer sense of identity. These life skills have served me personally and professionally.