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What We're Reading: Free Medical School Tuition; NJ Reinsurance Program; Downplaying Addiction With Opioids
Every single future medical student who will study at the New York University School of Medicine, in perpetuity, will have their tuition costs fully covered; HHS has approved New Jersey’s waiver request to create a reinsurance program that would help lower insurance premiums for everyone in the state; an analysis highlights how marketing documents from the mid-1990s downplayed addiction to opioids.
NYU to Give All of Its Medical Students Free Tuition
Every single future medical student who will study at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, in perpetuity, will have their tuition costs fully covered. The New York Times reported that the school cited the “overwhelming” debt medical school graduates face, which causes students to seek careers in higher-paying specialties. The hope is that if students have their medical tuition paid for, it can help alleviate the physician shortage. NYU has currently raised more than $450 million of the $600 million it said it will need to finance the tuition plan.
New Jersey Latest State to Receive Approval for Reinsurance Program
HHS has approved New Jersey’s waiver request to create a reinsurance program that would help lower insurance premiums for everyone in the state. The waiver allows the state to reimburse insurers for covering high-cost patients, according to the approval. Other states have implemented reinsurance programs with great success, resulting in far lower premium increases than what other states have reported. New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance expects that the reinsurance program will reduce premium rates by approximately 15% compared with what they would be without the program.
How Addiction to Opioids Was Downplayed
A new analysis from Kaiser Health News outlined how Purdue Pharma’s marketing documents for OxyContin in the mid-1990s downplayed addiction. The documents may be a “smoking gun,” according to one expert, in the thousands of pending lawsuits that allege drug makers engaged in deceptive marketing that fueled the current opioid epidemic. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump wants the federal government to get involved. He is asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file lawsuits against some companies that supply and manufacture the powerful painkillers.
How Does Diet Influence GI Cancer Outcomes?
April 16th 2025Healthy dietary patterns, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, may significantly reduce the risk and mortality of gastrointestinal cancers, while diets high in red and processed meats, alcohol, and sugary beverages can increase these risks.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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SGLT2 Inhibitors Show Renal Benefits in HF and CKD as Prescribers Target Uptake Gaps
April 15th 2025Abstracts featured at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting highlighted the renoprotective benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure and diabetic kidney disease while emphasizing the need for strategies to increase their uptake in primary care.
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