Ride sharing services battle it out – National Consumers League

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sg.jpgThe war is on in ride sharing business!  According to the Wall Street Journal, Lyft is joining forces with a Chinese start up – Didi, which provides ride-hailing services so companies in the alliance can share services and ally themselves against Uber. Lyft hopes the alliance will draw more international users because the app, which is used in China, will be usable on Lyft in the US. So customers won’t have to pay a foreign transaction fee, which another part of Lyft’s strategy. 

Uber is now available in 60 countries! It’s valued at more than $50 billion. But, it has fierce competition everywhere it is present and its competitors are also earning money hand over fist.

Have you ever heard of BlaBlaCar? I hadn’t either – they are a European start up valued at $1.5 billion that brokers long distance ride sharing between drivers and passengers. It’s huge and operates in 19 countries and has 20 million users. BlaBla thrives where there are gaps in public transportation or where it’s too expensive. For example, a customer can grab a ride from Paris to Prague for $57.  BlaBla doesn’t anticipate a US presence anytime soon because gas is cheap here and car ownership is affordable, unlike in many EU countries.

I think these “disruptive” technologies are exciting and good for the economy, including Uber, Lyft, BlaBlaCar and other ride sharing start-ups.  In the case of Uber, Sidecar, and Lyft, the fight isn’t to try to drive them out of business because they aren’t unionized taxi drivers, because it’s not going to happen and consumers love the service so it’s a losing battle.

The model instead should be what Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien suggested. His legislation would certify that in Seattle, non-profit organizations are eligible to represent drivers. These organizations would receive a list of all the drivers in the city that have performed a minimum number of trips and will have 120 days to show that a majority of these employees want to be represented. When verified, the non-profit will speak on behalf of the employees and give them a place at the table. The city is essentially saying, “If you want to do business in our town you have to let drivers organize and give them a voice.” I think that’s the way to go. Don’t drive out the technology, just organize the workforce and give them a voice. Uber’s design is brilliant, but workers must be able to share that wealth and have a say in how the company operates and the many benefits it can provide to workers and consumers.

 

Implementation of automatic braking systems could save lives – National Consumers League

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sg.jpgConsumers received some pretty good news this week – 10 automakers will be installing automatic braking systems, representing 57 percent of the auto industry to do so. These systems, which will become standard equipment, use sensors to detect possible collisions. But, there is a catch.

The problem here is that not all automakers will be included, as this is a voluntary effort and there is no “due date” for these systems to be built into cars. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which conducts valuable vehicle crash testing and is supported by the insurance industry, will be working on design and implementation.

Here’s the method to their madness: the government agency that regulates auto safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), could write a regulation to require braking systems to be standard equipment, and that takes a minimum of five years. But, if they can get the automakers to do it voluntarily, that speeds up the process. The downside is that automakers tend to drag their feet in implementing a lot of safety technology unless forced to do so by law. Volvo installed the automatic braking systems in several recent models and accidents decreased by 15 percent.

This is a good development for automotive safety because imagine that instead of having to sense that someone was pulling onto the road just as you were driving past or that someone was coming behind you at high speed – an automatic system of sensors would stop your car or the driver behind you. That could prevent countless accidents, injuries, and fatalities.

This is all on a hypothetical basis because we need all automakers to agree to support consumer safety and we need a faster timeline for when this technology will be implemented. The National Consumers League will be ready to cheer on these developments when they occur.

A Connection Between Safety Recalls and Executive Compensation – National Consumers League

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sg.jpgThank you to Gretchen Morgenson, writing in this Sunday’s The New York Times, about the connection between outsized executive pay packages and the incidence of safety recalls. 

Morgenson is a hero in the consumer community for her exposés on illegal corporate practices. She describes findings of a University of Notre Dame study that takes a look at companies that rely heavily on stock options in their executive compensation packages and the disinclination to recall a product with safety. What the study, titled “Throwing Caution to the Wind: The Effect of CEO Stock Option Pay on the Incidence of Product Safety Problems,” found that was surprising to me is that “CEO option pay is associated with both a higher likelihood of experiencing a recall as well as a higher number of recalls.”

The researchers studied two industries both regulated by the FDA: food companies and pharmaceutical companies. Other notable findings from the study are:

“Product recalls were less common among companies whose chief executive founded the companies or had long tenure there. The study’s authors speculate that such executives may be more risk-averse because they are generally large shareholders and their personal reputations are intertwined with the company.”

The lessons from this study that boards who are hiring and designing pay and benefits for CEOs should take away is that they need to align the interests of not just shareholders, but also consumers when considering heavy use of stock options in these pay packages. 

Tech support scammers dupe consumers – National Consumers League

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sg.jpgEver heard of a tech support scam? Well, a very smart, savvy member of my family fell victim to one this week.My family member, who we will refer to as Sherry, was working on her laptop when she clicked on an ad. Clicking on that ad ending up installing malware on her computer, which then put up warning messages on her screen telling her that her computer was infected. A helpline phone number was displayed—appearing to be Microsoft tech support. Sherry, in a panic, called the phone number, which was actually a scammer. Unbeknownst to Sherry, she allowed him to remotely access her computer while she was on the phone with him. The scammer led Sherry to believe he was running a scan for viruses, but he was really scanning her computer’s information and possibly attempting to damage her hard drive so that Sherry would have to pay him money to “fix” it. Sherry’s computer, just like all of ours, is full of important work data, personal contact information, financial documentation, and more that we wouldn’t want anyone else to have access to. Before Sherry committed to giving this man her credit card information, a friend advised her to hang up with the scammer, shut her computer down, and disconnect it from the Internet.

From an FTC Post on tech support scams:

In a recent twist, scam artists are using the phone to try to break into your computer. They call, claiming to be computer techs associated with well-known companies like Microsoft. They say that they’ve detected viruses or other malware on your computer to trick you into giving them remote access or paying for software you don’t need.

These scammers take advantage of your reasonable concerns about viruses and other threats. They know that computer users have heard time and again that it’s important to install security software. But the purpose behind their elaborate scheme isn’t to protect your computer; it’s to make money.

This is exactly what Sherry experienced. Her scammer assured her that he was fixing her computer issues, while she asked several times if he was being honest. He responded, “You have to trust me.” Two days later, Sherry has been told not connect her computer to the Internet, which is vital to her work. She’s also waiting for the other shoe to drop – what happens when her friends start getting solicitations to help Sherry out of a travel jam and wire money to some phony address? Or who knows what other damage these scammers have done to her personal information linked to the laptop? There are many implications to this type of scam that can be very detrimental to one’s financial, work, and personal life.

So consumers, please, sign up for Fraud Alerts, which will warn you and your family on the latest scams. Read this Fraud Alert for more information on tech support scams. The more consumers know what to look for, the less likely you are to get duped. NCL’s Fraud.org is here to help! Microsoft also provides tips on how to avoid tech support phone scams here.

Workplace safety standards highlighted in Labor Day accident – National Consumers League

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Why is it important to enforce workplace safety standards ? This weekend – ironically, when we were all celebrating Labor Day – a young immigrant from Ecuador named Fernando Vanegas was killed when the retaining wall designed to hold back soil on the base of a building collapsed on him. He was only 19 years old and had previously told his mother about many dangerous conditions at his workplace. “He would always tell me about how he had close calls,” she recounted.

There’s been a surge of fatal workplace incidents in New York City this year, according to the New York Times. The inspectors who investigated the fatality said that basic safety protections were not implemented, including providing adequate building support, compromising the whole structure. Several complaints about this worksite had landed at city offices and the cases were closed once the builder provided paperwork saying problems were being addressed. Inspectors had also cited the building in May and again in July for violations, but apparently the fines and penalties didn’t deter this contractor from exposing workers to dangerous conditions. Clearly the enforcement system isn’t working very well.

When enforcement is lax, employers and builders cut corners. This is the oldest story in the book, and this young man’s parents are mourning the loss of their son, whose only goal was to contribute to the family finances. Going to work shouldn’t mean taking your life into your hands. City inspectors across the country need to shut down construction sites that continually violate the law. It’s so sad for Mr. Vanegas and his family that he had to pay the price with his life. 

Labor Day thoughts: Minimum wage and the Presidential election – National Consumers League

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With the celebration of Labor Day this weekend, it’s a good time to ask what role the minimum wage will play in the Presidential campaign. This is right up our alley; NCL’s great leader Florence Kelley originally wrote and helped to pass the first minimum wage laws in the states. And this remains an issue near and dear to NCL.

Hillary Clinton is calling for a wage of $12 an hour by the year 2020. Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, the two other declared Democratic presidential candidates, are pushing for $15 by 2020. They are both too low if you look at what is needed to pay basic costs of living – for only one person – in 14 states and Washington DC. Right now it’s $12 an hour!

Among Republican candidates, the views are all across the board. Some want to raise it, some want to keep it at the current $7.25 and Carly Fiorina says the federal minimum wage law should be abolished. Uh huh – we’ve been there before. Florence Kelley is rolling over in her grave I’m sure! None of the following states have any minimum wage laws: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. In Georgia and Wyoming, the minimum wage is $5.15. So without a federal floor for minimum wage, employers in those states would be free to – and would – pay poverty wages. Kelley and her allies saw the pennies paid to the poorest most exploitable in the workforce and worked for a minimum.

Rising profits should mean rising wages but unfortunately the market doesn’t work that way. Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius, told Bloomberg news that in 2013 after-tax corporate earnings grew by as much as 11 percent per share. Hatzius went on to say that U.S. workers didn’t get much of a raise in 2013, leaving more profits left over for shareholders. Overall, hourly wages grew by just 2 percent in 2013, five times slower than corporate profits. So much for the market regulating wages.

We think the candidates, especially the democrats, need to recalibrate their numbers and raise substantially the minimum wages they are calling for in the years to come. That would be a great Labor Day gift, especially to the lowest paid of America’s workers.

Guest Blog: Fixing the Life Insurance Marketplace – National Consumers League

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b.fetchel.jpgA version of this guest post was originally published in the National Underwriter. The views reflected here are not necessarily those of the NCL.

“The life insurance market is characterized not only by an absence of reliable price information, but also by the presence of deceptive price information…the deceptive sales practices found in the life insurance industry constitute a national scandal.” So testified Professor Joseph Belth, an expert on the life insurance industry, before Congress in 1973. Can this statement, from more than 40 years ago, still be as true today?  And is it possible for such deplorable industry practices to be occurring without being in the spotlight of public attention?

The short answers are yes. To this day the life insurance industry too often relies on inadequate product disclosure, misinformation, and fraudulent practices, thereby costing consumers billions of dollars annually. Industry executives have for years acknowledged that no one would buy many of their companies’ products if they were appropriately informed.

The free market economic system is built upon informed buyers making educated decisions. Yet so many life insurance industry chieftains who regularly sing the praise of our economic system fail to acknowledge that their businesses haven’t satisfied the system’s prerequisites or played by its rules.

Empirical proof of the life insurance market’s dysfunction is readily apparent by examining the very products life insurers and their agents sell. While a select few cash-value life insurance policies can provide excellent competitive value, perhaps 95% of such policies sold provide value no informed consumer would accept. This marketplace’s dearth of information also afflicts tens of millions of policyholders at annual renewal; if properly informed, millions of them currently could readily obtain much better value. Consumers of the industry’s other main products, annuities and long term care insurance, also face enormous disclosure-related problems.

The root of the age-old problem is the inadequate disclosure of information surrounding cash-value policies, such as whole life policies, where the annual cost is not the annual premium. Professor Belth and I have both long recommended disclosure about a policy’s annual costs and rate of return on its cash-values.  

The attached table of an actual insurance policy’s historical performance (see below) shows how this information on a policy’s annual costs and rates of return on its cash-values can be presented on a year-by-year basis and summarized over the duration with average or aggregate measures. Similar cost and rate information can be calculated on any and all prospective new and in-force policies via online consumer-friendly analytical tools. Understanding policies from this framework, and with solid knowledge of the differences between illustrated future values and actual future performance, enables consumers to assess the competitiveness of a policy’s costs and rates. For example, a healthy 40 year-old male can  compare his policy’s costs with benchmarks that are available in the marketplace and its rates of return with suitable alternative investments. 

A cash-value life insurance policy’s unique intrinsic economic advantages arise from its Congressionally-granted tax privileges, not its highly touted permanence; after all, a term policy can be converted or exchanged into a policy providing lifelong, permanent coverage. These tax privileges, which are given directly to policyholders, however, are not a basis for which insurers can charge consumers; no one pays thousands of dollars to set-up an individual retirement account (IRA). Consequently, when selling such cash-value policies as whole life agents routinely make assorted misrepresentations. Agents often misleadingly state: 1) that a whole life policyholder pays for a lifetime of costs upfront, and that doing such and owning his/her coverage is better than endlessly renting it; 2) that buying a whole life policy at a younger age locks in a lower level cost for life; and 3) that the annual costs of a whole life policy can actually decline as the insured ages because these policies can pay dividends. These three common agent statements, and myriad variations of such, are deceptive.

Regulations prohibit such misrepresentations, but they have never been enforced. These and other misrepresentations are all designed to distort a cash value policy’s fundamental difference. For agents, the essential difference between whole life and term insurance is the quantum difference in the sales commissions – up to 5-9 times larger on whole life policies than on term policies. No one familiar with the paramount role that compensation incentives tied to the origination of subprime mortgages and the repackaging of such default-inevitable, toxic securities played in creating the Great Recession can doubt the perniciousness of the life insurance industry’s age-old problematic sales practices.

A successful consumer-agent relationship can only be built on trust, so predicating it upon inadequate disclosure is inherently counter-productive to all. While inadequate disclosure appears to be in the insurers’ and agents’ interest, it actually has made consumers so leery of agents that the age-old distribution process is so terribly inefficient and ineffective. Americans’ under-insurance – having woefully less life insurance than needed or appropriate – reaches new records every year. Some insurers’ policy lapse rates raise fundamental questions regarding the products’ suitability that regulators have never examined. And, the facts that the typical life insurance agent sells less than one policy per week and that four out of five new sales recruits fail out of the business within a few years are further proof of this industry’s failed business approaches.

Given the nature of the problem, improved disclosure and publicity of such have always been known to be two indispensable parts of the inevitable solution. Contrary to general opinion, however, there is no need to wait to for this industry’s state regulators to act and mandate disclosure. The necessary disclosures, after all, are not proprietary or esoteric. As is shown in the table, life insurance policies, like an automobiles’ horsepower or MPG, can be disclosed, not only by the manufacturer, but by anyone with the necessary expertise and this information is now available online.

Without publicity though, this public good of disclosure remains undiscovered. Reform of the life insurance industry has always merely been a battle of wills. Reformers have had to confront industry, an uninterested or uninformed media, regulators not understanding their jobs or unwilling or unable to do them, and/or reformers’ own doubts about ever succeeding. Financial markets can be fixed when appropriate policy disclosure for consumers is heralded and becomes pervasive.

When will this information be publicly disseminated, so that everyone knows about it and can use it, thereby initiating the long-overdue repair of the life insurance marketplace? This disclosure-driven transformation will produce the myriad and well-documented benefits of genuine economic competition: consumers will obtain better value; insurers will improve the efficiency of their production processes; and agents will act and be seen as trustworthy professionals. Clearly, the sooner this time comes, the sooner Americans can start saving billions of dollars per year, the better for everyone.

 

Actual Historical Performance of a Whole Life Policy
$250,000 issued 20+ Years ago (in 1989) to a 45 Year Old Male, Best Health
*Annual Premium $5815 Paid All Years
** Notes below provide additional information

Age During Year

Insurance Death Benefit

Cash-Value

Total Annual Costs

Annual Dividend Rate

45

            251,425

  408

            5,444

10.00%

46

            253,954

 5,134

            1,556

10.00%

47

            256,890

10,188

            1,624

9.25%

48

            260,927

 15,823

            1,520

9.25%

49

            265,684

21,955

            1,403

8.50%

50

            271,380

28,709

            1,310

8.50%

51

            278,019

36,119

            1,235

8.50%

52

            285,871

44,344

            1,064

8.50%

53

            295,056

53,487

            998

8.80%

54

            305,332

63,521

            919

8.80%

55

            316,703

74,519

            844

8.80%

56

            328,867

86,417

            907

8.80%

57

            341,858

99,309

            787

8.60%

58

            354,658

112,782

            889

8.20%

59

            366,807

126,628

            1,022

7.70%

60

            378,831

141,112

            1,176

7.50%

61

            391,554

156,699

            1,160

7.50%

62

            404,738

173,322

            1,284

7.50%

63

            418,387

191,040

            1,425

7.50%

64

            429,215

207,946

            1,601

6.50%

 

 

 

Avg. Rate:

8.43%

 

**Insurance Death Benefit shows the amount the policyholder’s beneficiary would receive after his death
Cash-Value is the cash amount the insurer gives to the policyholder if he cancels his contract
Total Annual Costs show the amount expensed from policy premiums (and policy cash values if and when necessary) to pay for sales, claim, administrative, capital charges and any other miscellaneous costs, such as premium taxes.
Annual Dividend Rate is the rate earned by policyholder, net of investment management costs, on policy cash values, that is, values after costs.        

For More Information see this Table 2 of Policy Disclosure article.

A Big Win For California Patients And Consumers – “Refill Reminders” A “Go” – National Consumers League

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sg.jpgCalifornia’s Office of Health Information Integrity (CalOHII) just delivered a big victory for patients and consumers by expressly recognizing that sponsored medication adherence programs for a currently prescribed drug (commonly called “refill reminders”) do not require patient authorization in California. In publishing its long-awaited State Health Information Policy Manual, CalOHII takes a step to harmonize the state’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) with the federal medical privacy laws and regulations (a.k.a., the HIPAA Privacy Rule).

For years now, due in part to privacy concerns, confusion has persisted within the healthcare community about the types of refill reminder programs that can legally run in California. In fact, California is the only state in the U.S. where pharmacies do not, to any meaningful degree, operate sponsored refill reminder programs. California consumers deserve the benefit of refill reminders that provide helpful information to patients about their prescription drugs. Patient access to this information is now guaranteed.

CalOHII’s publication of its Manual makes clear that California adopts the same approach that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took in its 2013 final rulemaking and “Refill Reminder Guidance.” Under that HHS Guidance, pharmacies are able to provide their patients with sponsored refill reminders. NCL applauds CalOHII for clarifying that the CMIA should be interpreted consistently with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. With that clarification, NCL is hopeful that California pharmacies and their sponsors will jumpstart sponsored refill reminder programs. 

NCL is a longstanding supporter of refill reminder programs. NCL leads  “Script Your Future,” a public education campaign designed to raise awareness of the importance of taking medication as prescribed. Poor medication adherence is a major, and significantly under-appreciated, health problem. Studies establish that nearly three-out-of-four Americans do not take their medications as directed, which costs the healthcare system nearly $300 billion per year and results in almost 125,000 unnecessary deaths per year. To help combat this problem, most pharmacies, health plans, and doctors provide a broad range of patient-directed communications regarding prescription drug therapies, including communications that encourage patients to stay on prescribed therapy. The sponsored refill reminder programs endorsed by CalOHII in its Manual are a key part of these efforts in California.  

 As a founding member of the Best Privacy Practices Coalition, NCL is also a strong believer in the protection of medical privacy. However, medical privacy does not exist in a vacuum. NCL is pleased that CalOHII has arrived at a great middle ground that balances the need for information with privacy concerns of patients. This balance is a win for Californians.

The Greatest American Heroine You’ve Never Heard of: Why Florence Kelley Should Be the Woman on the Next $10 Bill – National Consumers League

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This post appeared on the Huffington Post on July 6, 2015

The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Jack Lew, recently announced that the newly re-designed $10 bill, slated for 2020, would feature the face of a woman to honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. The announcement set the Internet ablaze with suggestions for which historical U.S. woman would adorn the new bill.

It’s about time! While this will not be the first time a woman has graced U.S. currency – Martha Washington was featured on the dollar bill in the 19th Century and Pocahontas was in a group photo that appeared on the $20 bill from 1865 to 1869 – it’s been way too long since we had an American heroine appear on paper money. Queen Elizabeth’s likeness is on bills in 15 Commonwealth countries. Frida Kahlo is featured on Mexico’s 500-peso note. Eva Peron has been celebrated on Argentina’s 100-peso note since 2012. Opera star Dame Nellie Melba appears on the Australian 100-dollar note.

Lew has said that he will be choosing a woman who “has played a major role in our history who represents the theme of democracy.” One of the National Consumers League’s founders, Florence Kelley, was a champion for equal rights and consumer protections who fought her whole life for democracy and would be an ideal candidate – a true unsung female American hero.

Though her actions are not as popularized as other women in U.S. history, she has indeed played a major role in the creation of modern America and worked tirelessly to raise awareness and influence public policy to fight the oppressive working conditions for women, children, and all workers. She may not be as well recognized in popular culture, but we all take for granted the 8-hour workday that she helped to establish and the other groundbreaking reforms in labor and consumer products for which she was responsible. Her work left a very visible mark on our nation’s history, and we now have a chance for her legacy in social justice to be acknowledged.

Here are the top ten reasons we should put #KelleyOn10.

1. Influence. Justice Felix Frankfurter said about Florence Kelley: she “had probably the largest single share in shaping the social history of the United States during the first 30 years of the 20th Century.”
2. Workers rights. The daughter of William D. Kelley, a co-founder of the Republican Party in 1859 and a U.S. Congressman from Philadelphia, 1860-1890, she was a charismatic speaker who convinced her contemporaries that women and children needed labor protections at a time when unions would not represent their interests.
3. Pioneer. After graduating from Cornell University in 1882, and obtaining a law degree from Northwestern University in 1893, she co-founded in 1898 a leading progressive era organization – the National Consumers League (NCL)– and headed the NCL until her death in 1932.
4. Progressive leadership. She fostered the creation of 64 local consumers’ leagues throughout the United States, and traveled extensively to orchestrate connections between local leagues and the national league, promoting a social justice agenda that was widely adopted by the women’s suffrage movement and other progressive movements nationwide. She inspired and mentored future Labor Secretary, Frances Perkins; Eleanor Roosevelt followed in Kelley’s footsteps.
5. Ending child labor. She was the leading champion of eradicating child labor in the United States from 1898-1932.
6. 40-hour work week. She promoted the enactment of state wage and hours laws for women, which created the foundation for the 40-hour week and minimum wage law incorporated within the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938.
7. Universal health care. She led the campaign for enactment of the first federal health care bill, the Welfare and Hygiene of Maternity and Infancy Act, more commonly known as the Sheppard-Towner Act of 1921
8. NAACP leadership. In 1909 she was one of the original organizers, with W.E.B. DuBois and others, of the NAACP and served on the association’s board for 20 years. Kelley fully supported racial equality, writing in a 1926 letter, “I think there should be a written pledge from every hotel that there will be no race discrimination. Certainly I should not dream of staying in any hotel which refused to my fellow members either bed or board.”
9. Women’s suffrage. She was a prominent leader in the battle for women’s suffrage, served a Vice President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1902, and in 1920 co-founded the League of Women Voters.
10. Consumer safety. She advocated for the Pure Food and Drugs Act and Meat Inspection Act of 1906, pioneering consumer protection laws that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Talk before you take: The importance of doctor-patient communication before starting a new medication – National Consumers League

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92_kamay.jpgWe’ve all been there. Sitting alone in a cold doctor’s office, listening to a re-run of the Dr. Oz show while waiting for your doctor to come back in the room with a diagnosis and prescription in hand. You can’t wait to leave and get back on the path to wellness. And who could blame you? No one likes to wait—especially when you don’t feel healthy. The doctor comes back, hands you your prescription, and gives you a brief overview about what the medication is and the appropriate dosage. But, what happens next is critical. Do you hop off that cold, uncomfortable patient bed and go on your merry way, or do you ask questions? Specifically, questions pertaining to the risks associated with this prescription medication.

While in recent years, the communication gap between healthcare providers and patients has been met with a fair share of commentary, critique, scholarly review and analysis, we are slowly making progress, thanks in part to numerous campaigns and educational initiatives. Recently, the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE), a non-profit organization, launched a campaign to help bridge the communication gap with Talk Before You Take.

Launched earlier this year, Talk Before You Take highlights the importance of communicating with your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of prescribed medications before a prescription is written and filled. The specific aims of the Talk Before You Take are to:

  • Understand medication side effects
  • Avoid adverse drug reactions
  • Improve adherence to medicine regimen(s)
  • Live healthier lives

Here are four tips to help guide your conversation with your healthcare provider about prescription medicines:

  • 1. Talk to your healthcare provider and ask questions about the benefits and potential risks of prescription medicines you take.
  • 2. Tell your healthcare provider about all of the medicines you are taking—including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and dietary supplements.
  • 3. Tell your healthcare provider about any allergies or sensitivities that you may have.
  • 4. Read and follow the medicine label and directions.

And remember, even if you get home and realize that you still have questions about your prescription medications; it’s not too late. Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call your healthcare provider. Because when it comes to your health, there are no silly questions.