New CVS Tool to Lower Prescription Costs

 Cheaper drug options...

CVS Health announced yesterday that it is rolling out a new tool to alert its 30,000 pharmacists to cheaper drug options when they fill patients' prescriptions, ajpb.com reports.

The tool, called CVS Pharmacy's Rx Savings Finder program, will enable pharmacists and consumers to question doctors' prescription choices to save patients money, the news service wrote.

Other ways to save on prescriptions

When you fill a prescription at your local drugstore, you probably assume that using your insurance is the best -- and maybe even the only -- way to pay, Lisa Gill reports on consumerreports.org.

So you might be surprised to learn that you can sometimes pay less if you don't use your insurance, Gill wrote.

And there's a good reason that counterintutive cost-saving strategy isn't widely known, Gill added.

Pharmacists are often bound by "gag clauses" in contracts with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) -- companies that act as go-betweens for drugmakers, insurers and drugstores -- from sharing that information, according to Gill.

For more on the new CVS tool: www.ajpb.com/news/trending-news-today-cvs-offers-pharmacists-consumers-tool-to-find-cheaper-drug-alternatives

For more tips to avoid gag clauses and other ways to lower prescription costs: https://www.consumerreports.org/drug-prices/gag-clauses-stop-you-from-getting-lowest-prescription-drug-prices/

Photos: Pinterest.

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The Latest Darien Real Estate Update.

How to Control Cookies on Your Computer

Boost your online privacy...

Where did all these cookies come from?

Odds are that your computer's browser is full of cookies, tiny files left behind as you go from website to website.  Mine is, Allen St. John reports on consumerreports.org.

My personal machine has close to 5,000 cookies, St. John added.

Some of the web cookies on your machine are used by big advertising companies looking to gather and store information about you -- what you shop for, which sites you visit, and so on.  That can feel like a violation of your privacy and make you think you should dive in and delete them all, St. John wrote.

For more on cookies and how you can control them on your computer:  https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/how-to-control-web-cookies-and-boost-online-privacy/

Photo: Buzzfeed.

Next time on The Allen Report:
How to Lower Prescription Costs.

The Disappearing Doctor

Doctors and changes sweeping the medical system...

Dr. Navya Mysore moved to a different practice where she spends more time with patients.

Is the doctor in?

In this new medical age of urgent care centers and retail clinics, that's not a simple question.  Nor does it have a simple answer, as primary care doctors become increasingly scarce, Reed Abelson and Julie Creswell report on nytimes. com.

For a timely report about some significant changes in the American medical system: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/health/health-care-mergers-doctors.html

Photo: nytimes.com.

Next time on The Allen Report:
How to Control Cookies on Your Computer.

How to Use Facebook Privacy Settings

Tools to secure your data...

Manage what your friends can see.

In the weeks since the Facebook privacy scandal broke, the #DeleteFacebook hashtag spiked on Twitter, Congress summoned CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify, and the Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into whether Facebook's actions related to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, violated a 2011 consent order, Tercius Bufete reports on consumerreports.org.

While some Facebook users have decided to suspend or delete their accounts, many are just looking for better ways to enhance privacy on the platform, Bufete wrote.

Here's what you can do: https://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/facebook-privacy-settings/

Photos: Giphy, Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:
The Disappearing Doctor.

A Trade War With China Could Mean Higher TV Prices

Hitting consumers...

Your next 4K TV from China could be more expensive.

One great thing about TVs is that typically they get better and cheaper every year, James Wilcox writes on consumerreports.org.

But industry analysts say that if the Trump administration's proposed 25 percent tariff on products and electronic components from China goes into effect, you may be paying more for your next 4K TV, Wilcox reports.

For more on the ongoing tit-for-tat negotiations between China and the U.S that could lead to a trade war and higher prices for consumers in both countries: https://www.consumerreports.org/televisions/will-trump-s-chinese-tariffs-mean-higher-tv-prices-/

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

How to Use Facebook Privacy Settings.

Facebook is Verifying Political Ads Ahead of 2018 Midterms

New security efforts...

Facebook is taking new steps to prevent interference in the 2018 midterms, days before CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the hot seat before Congress to testify on Russian interference in the 2016 election and a data leak that allowed millions of Facebook profiles to fall into the hands of the Robert Mercer-backed political targeting firm Cambridge Analytica, Michael Learmonth and Alex Thompson report on vicenews.com.

Facebook announced last Friday it will require every advertiser that wants to run political or "issues" ads to have a verified account by confirming their identity and location, Learmonth and Thompson wrote.

Facebook will also require managers of large Facebook Pages to be verified, an attempt to prevent large accounts from spreading misinformation as Russian-linked accounts did in the 2016 presidential election, they added.

For more: https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/bjpynz/facebook-is-verifying-its-political-ads-ahead-of-2018-midterms

Photos Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report:

A Trade War With China Could Mean Higher TV Prices.

Smile: Time for Your New Week

Fun...

Altogether, now!

For fun videos to start your new week:

-- Old Spice: Marco Polo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCN8FyG_jEE

-- Progressive: Experts: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wFlA/progressive-experts

-- Progressive: Group session: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wlFY/progressive-group-session

-- Progressive: Super man cave: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wdtI/progressive-super-man-cave

-- Allstate: Check/Leak: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/7qFu/allstate-check-leak

Photo: Pinterest.

Next time on The Allen Report: 
Facebook is Verifying Political Ads Ahead of 2018 Midterms.