Dr. Mike Roizen here with a tip about prescription drugs that will help you stay younger. Generic drugs cost a fraction of the named brand versions and they're very much like the real ones. Here's what you should know about them, they're strictly regulated by the FDA the active drug involves the brand-name version and the generic version must be the same. 

How the generic medication is absorbed and how soon it's delivered to where it's needed in your body must be bio equivalent to the brand name drug. They are usually a third of the brand price that's because the manufacturers of generic drugs don't have to earn back the expense of research and development. 

When possible choose a generic drug that's made by the same company that makes or made the brand-name drug. However if you're taking a drug that requires very precise dose control, a generic medication's equivalent status may not do the trick for you, this problem is common with thyroid medications. 

Bottom line pay attention to how you feel if you don't think the medication is doing what it's supposed to, call your doc for more ways to that being a smart patient can help you stay younger, watch all of our health tips right here. 
   

Are generic drugs as good as brand-name medications?

Over-testing can add costs and could reduce your quality of care.

7 Health Tests You May Not Need

Explaining disparities in the healthcare system

5 medical appointments you shouldn't put off anymore

5 Tips for Getting the Most of Your Telehealth Appointments

How Do I Get the Most Out of a Telehealth Appointment?

The Small Business Impact on Private Practices

Why I Care: Dr. Darria Long Gillespie

I think there's a differences of abilities as to how health can be delivered and managed and how we engage the consumers. So how healthy it can be delivered and managed I think both the science of medicine and the science of information has advanced to a point where we can manage much more effectively healthcare than we ever did before, we can personalize healthcare and that's one component of meeting the consumer where it's appropriate for them not just from a psychological perspective if you want but even from a clinical perspective. 

So I think we are in a position right now, and we are getting closer and closer in personalizing treatments. 
  

How Can Healthcare Be Effectively Delivered and Managed?

Everyone seems to want to get their hands on money. Singers boast about having it, people in power seem to hoard it, and others spend a third of their lives or more trying to make it. It&rsquo;s on nearly everyone&rsquo;s minds, too. One 2015 survey found that Americans think more about their finances than they do about sex.

Who hasn&rsquo;t dreamt of being filthy rich? You might be surprised, though, to learn how dirty your cash really is. Every time you hold a dollar bill, even if it&rsquo;s just to hand it to a cashier, you&rsquo;re exposing yourself to thousands of germs and illness-causing bacteria.

Do you know where that dollar&rsquo;s been? 
Money is a frequently touched surface and home to a wide range of bacteria. In one 2017 study published in PLOS One, researchers swabbed the surfaces of $1 bills taken from a New York City bank. The research team found over hundreds of bacterial species on the cash, including Propionibacterium acnes, which contributes to acne breakouts.

The type of material used to make cash can determine whether your money is clean or not. Dollar bills are made of 25 percent linen and 75 percent cotton. A 2022 study published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that cotton-based bills attract more bacteria such as Salmonella than polymer-based bills, like the British pound. &nbsp;

Any type of money can be a breeding ground for germs. And it stands to reason, since a piece of physical currency changes hands once a week or at least 55 times a year, on average. But some types of money are germier than others.

A 2020 study for the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases found that bacteria survive more on paper bills than they do on coins made of copper. Copper appears to have antimicrobial activity and provides an environment that&rsquo;s toxic for most types of bacteria.

Your plastic isn&rsquo;t any cleaner 
If you plan to swear off touching paper money, know that your ATM and credit cards aren&rsquo;t much more sanitary. A 2020 study conducted by LendEDU reported that there were more bacteria on credit and debit cards than there are on dollar bills and coins.

The researchers used a device that tests for bacteria on a surface and calculates a germ score. The higher the score, the dirtier the area. Cards had a score of 285, with the magnetic strip side considered the dirtiest part of the ATM card. In contrast, dollar bills averaged 160 and coins were usually around 136. For perspective, the researchers noted that credit and debit cards have more germs than a New York City subway pole or a bathroom in New York&rsquo;s famous Penn Station.

The good news is that it&rsquo;s unlikely the germs on money will actually make you sick, assuming you&rsquo;re otherwise healthy. There has, however, been some research showing instances of food poisoning caused by bacteria on the surfaces of bank cards. It&rsquo;s always a good idea to wash your hands after handling cash or cleaning your cards with an antibacterial wipe after every use.&nbsp;

Most U.S. currency is contaminated with illegal drugs 
An old but widely referenced study published in 1996 in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology was the first to discover the presence of illicit drugs on cash. The researchers found that 79 percent of dollars in the United States are tainted with cocaine, with amounts ranging from nanograms to milligrams.

A study published in 2022 in Science &amp; Justice found that cocaine can persist on the surface of paper and polymer banknotes for even after extensive handling. Research also shows that money can hold traces of other drugs, such as MDMA, ketamine, and methamphetamine.

Just because there may be traces of an illegal drug on the money in your pocket doesn&rsquo;t mean you&rsquo;ll test positive for the drug, though. Even if small amounts of cocaine land on your hands, illegal drugs such as these are not absorbable through the skin.

It&rsquo;s also unclear whether most contamination comes from drug use or from contaminated bills mingling with uncontaminated bills. One theory is that bills with larger amounts of cocaine have been used to consume cocaine or were exchanged in drug deals.

Soiled money is constantly being replaced 
If you&rsquo;re feeling grossed out by what&rsquo;s on your money, you&rsquo;re not alone. The U.S. Federal Reserve is constantly replacing old money with new and the primary reason for removing cash from circulation its &ldquo;soil content&rdquo;: the amount of bacteria that lives on each bill. In fact, upwards of 95 percent of the money printed in the U.S. is produced&nbsp;to replace old, worn-out, and soiled bills.

How Dirty Is Your Money?

Which kind of these retirement accounts is right for you?

3 Types of IRAs

I think it's going to be very difficult to monitor. I think you're going to have all kinds outliers that, and I know those they are against medical ethicists and economists looking at all this to reduce the outliers, but I think you're going to have difficulty saying to a hospital, I'm going to pay you a higher rate because you've got a better outcome, versus the guy across the street. 

I think the outcome is going to be difficult to track. 
  

Is It Difficult to Monitor Pay for Performance?

Life insurance is an important way to provide protection for your family. However, it&#39;s often misunderstood, and misconceptions are plentiful&mdash;including that it&#39;s expensive and difficult to purchase. But once you have a basic understanding of what life insurance is, how it works and the two main types of life insurance, you&rsquo;ll be on your way to providing protection and financial security for your family.

What is life insurance? 
<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/health-topics-a-z/financial-health/how-do-i-know-which-type-of-life-insurance-is-right-for-me">Life insurance</a> is a contract between you and an insurance company where you make a monthly or annual payment&mdash;the premium&mdash;and the insurance company pays a specified amount of money&mdash;the death benefit&mdash;to your beneficiaries when you pass away.

If you have people who depend on your income, like underage children, a spouse or elderly parents, then life insurance is imperative. You should also consider life insurance if someone would incur additional costs if you pass away (like childcare for example). The money obtained from a policy can help your family pay their regular monthly bills, your children&rsquo;s future college tuition or for your funeral expenses and outstanding medical bills. In some cases, people decide to purchase a policy when a major life event takes place&mdash;like getting married, buying a home, starting a business or having a baby&mdash;but life insurance can be purchased at any time.

In fact, the sooner you buy life insurance, the lower your monthly or annual payments will likely be. Other factors that determine the cost of life insurance are your health status, medical history and driving record. Smoking status is also a large determinant of your payments, with non-smokers generally receiving significantly better rates.

While historically, purchasing life insurance required medical exams and blood testing, this is often no longer the case. In fact, for relatively healthy individuals, many insurance companies offer a benefit of up to $1 million without a medical exam or blood test. For larger policies or for people with extensive medical histories, a medical exam can still be required.

Two basic types of life insurance 
The <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/financial-planning-health-care/what-different-types-life-insurance">two main types of policies</a> are term life insurance and permanent life insurance.

Term life insurance offers a cash payout if you pass away during a specific period of time (for example, 10, 20 or 30 years); you pay via a fixed monthly or annual premium during the term of the policy. Term insurance is a viable option for covering specific costs such as a mortgage or college education. Often times, insurance companies will allow you to convert your term policy into a permanent policy for a specified period of time after purchase.

Permanent life insurance offers lifetime protection with a cash payout at the time of death, regardless of when that is. It often includes a cash account value that you may be able to access while you are alive, which has the ability to grow, similar to money in other investments (mutual funds, or bonds). Your monthly payments may be fixed or they may be flexible depending on the type of policy you choose. Permanent life insurance is a viable option for people looking to pass money on to their family after they pass away, or for people concerned about paying for funeral costs or medical bills at the time of their passing.

Some employers offer life insurance as a benefit to their employees. While this is generally temporary&mdash;good only while you are employed with the company&mdash;it may be wise to take advantage of this benefit, as the monthly payments may be offset by your employer. But if you have family who is dependent upon your income, additional insurance, outside of work is generally required. Life insurance can be purchased online, over the phone or from a licensed financial professional.

Health care