admin @ Tue, 2005-10-25 12:46
Consumers, their employers and health plans in the commercial market could have saved more than $20 billion last year through increased use of generic drugs, according to a new report by Express Scripts Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager. The study examined six major classes of drugs including cholesterol-lowering medications and antidepressants and was based on a sample of roughly 3million Express Scripts commercial members. Government programs such as Medicaid, the health plan for the poor, were not included in the study. It said that on average a generic drug costs about $60 less per monthly prescription than a brand name medicine. Consumers also pay lower co-payments for generics, saving $10 or more per prescription by forgoing a brand-name medicine.
The world's largest shipping carrier, UPS Inc., will stop delivering cigarettes to individuals in the United States under an agreement announced Monday with state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The agreement is the latest in federal and state efforts to combat the sale of undertaxed cigarettes and to fight underage smoking. Earlier this year, DHL banned cigarette deliveries to individuals nationwide and the nation's largest credit card companies stopped processing payments for cigarette sales. The U.S. Postal Service continues to deliver cigarettes to individuals, and Spitzer called that practice "an embarrassment."
Yahoo Inc.'s intensifying quest for unique material is getting even more adventurous. The Sunnyvale-based company has hired Richard Bangs, an author and film director, to create multimedia packages about exotic - and sometimes dangerous - expeditions on mountains, rivers and islands around the world. Bangs hopes to present other adventures at least once a month.
Granted, lots of folks made a bundle on Google. But were they smart or just lucky? Surely, those who merely followed the fad were just lucky. What about the pros? Many studies have shown that over time, professional stock pickers cannot consistently beat the broad market's performance. If the pros can't spot hot stocks, can you?
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