About The Study: From 2020 to 2025, prior authorization for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) became near universal and out-of-pocket costs rose substantially in 2025, as plans increasingly required coinsurance. Although the rise in prior authorization may reflect efforts to curtail off-label GLP-1RA use, recent increases in out-of-pocket costs likely resulted from broader shifts to coinsurance affecting many high-cost drugs.

Hospitals with the widest difference between the cost of their services and what they charge patients and their insurance carriers are mostly for-profit, investor owned and located in large metropolitan areas. They also have significantly worse patient outcomes compared with lower-cost hospitals.

Climate change is a major economic threat. With a new model, economist Andrea Titton shows how climate disasters can disrupt supply chains, how climate tipping points may cost trillions each year, and how international fairness is also at stake. But, he says, being better prepared now will actually prove cheaper than taking the gamble of hitting a climate tipping point. On Thursday, 2 October, Titton will defend his PhD thesis at the University of Amsterdam.