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Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. New York Times pharmaceutical reporter Rebecca Robbins explains how.

Niclas Füllkrug arrived early at the Adidas campus just outside Herzogenaurach, a postcard-perfect town in Bavaria that would host the German national team ahead of this summer's European soccer championships. The staff had been told that the players would arrive on Monday morning, a few days before the opening match. But on Sunday evening, Füllkrug, one of the team's attackers, arrived.He had decided to make the 300-mile journey from his home in Hanover on the high-speed train of Germany's national railway company, Deutsche Bahn. The company was not only one of the sponsors of the tournament; it should also have been a standard-bearer for the event's green credentials.But years of failure to invest in rolling stock, upgrade railways and digitalize switchgear have made ...

Heather Massey took Ladybird to the vet when the 9-year-old mutt he began to have convulsions. A scan from an MRI machine revealed some bad news: brain cancer.Given the poor prognosis, Ms. Massey decided not to undergo further treatment at the animal hospital near her home in Athens, Georgia, and Ladybird died four months later. Her MRI scan and related care had cost nearly $2,000, which Ms. Massey had put on a special credit card that she had learned about during an earlier veterinary visit.This was in 2018. He is still paying off the debt, with over 30% interest.“Could I afford to do this? Not really,” said Ms. Massey, 52, who is disabled and doesn't work. “Was it worth it for me? YES."Ms. Massey's experience illustrates the new, expensive realities of owning a pet. For dec...

Cyprus found itself in the center of global attention this week when Hezbollah's leader threatened to target the small island nation if it supported Israel in potential war efforts.Amid escalating violence between the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese militia and the Israeli army on the Israel-Lebanon border, Hezbollah's chief warned on Wednesday that the armed group would punish Cyprus if it allowed Israel to use its airports and its basis for targeting Lebanon, claiming it would be “part of the war.”The warning from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah came as world leaders were scrambling to contain the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, despite clear efforts by both sides to prevent the cycle of attacks and counterattacks from turning into a full-blown war.Here's a closer look...

If you've ever had trouble getting a prescription drug, chances are you've come across a pharmacy benefits manager.These companies, known as PBMs, play a crucial but often hidden role in deciding which drugs you can get and how much you will personally pay. They are middlemen in America's maddeningly complex healthcare system, working on behalf of employers or government insurance programs like Medicare, which covers most prescription drug costs.The PBM's job is to save money on drugs. But the New York Times found that the three largest PBMs often overcharge you.Here's what to know about your PBM and how to find out if you're being overcharged.How do I know which PBM I have?Most Americans rely on one of the big three PBMs: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, or Optum R...

When news broke that Pope Francis had used an offensive anti-gay slur while speaking to Italian bishops at a conference last month, many Catholics were shocked and dismayed. How could a pope known for his openness and acceptance of LGBTQ people use homophobic jargon and warn prelates against allowing gay men into seminaries?But the question, and the apparent inconsistency in Francis' message, reflect the profound contradictions and tensions that underlie the Roman Catholic Church's and Francis' relationship with homosexuality.The Church maintains that “homosexual tendencies” are “intrinsically disordered.” When it comes to ordination, church guidelines state that people with "deep-rooted" gay tendencies should not become priests.Yet ordination has also long been a kind of ref...

When the media titans Brian Roberts, John Malone and Barry Diller cast off in early February on Mr. Diller’s 156-foot, two-masted yacht, named Arriva, the waters off the coast of Jupiter, Fla., were placid.The same could not be said for their sprawling entertainment businesses.The three men meet occasionally to discuss the state of the industry, and lively disagreements have a been a staple of their discussions. But by the time they met on the yacht, they had all agreed that the money-losing status quo in the streaming business was unsustainable. The old cable model was a melting ice cube.But what will take its place?“There was peace in the valley for a period of time,” Mr. Malone mused in a rare recent interview, recalling the days before video-streaming upended the lucrative cable busine...

After hundreds of pilgrims died in the scorching desert heat during the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, the Egyptian government is cracking down on tourism companies that facilitated travel to Saudi Arabia and said on Saturday it had suspended the licenses of 16 companies.At least 450 people died during the pilgrimage, during which travelers had to endure extreme temperatures which ranged from 108 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit (42 to 49 degrees Celsius). But the actual number of victims is expected to rise much more as governments get more accurate death counts. (Egypt, for example, has officially acknowledged only 31 deaths.)In announcing the suspension of the 16 travel companies, the Egyptian government said the companies had failed to offer pilgrims important services such as med...

Pets are more popular than ever. According to the American Pet Products Association, about two-thirds of American homes have at least one pet, up from 56% in 1988, and Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets in 2022, up from 123, 6 billion dollars in 2021. An estimated 91 million households in Europe own at least one pet, an increase of 20 million over the last ten years. India's pet population reached 31 million in 2021, up from 10 million in 2011.And our pets are becoming more and more like us – or at least, that seems to be our goal. We pamper them with personalized nutritional plans and backpack carriers, hydrotherapy for dogs and stays in boutique cat hotels. At All the Best, a high-end pet store chain in Seattle, the most popular items are enrichment toys for cats and do...

A Swiss court on Friday found members of Britain's richest family guilty of exploiting domestic workers at a luxury villa in Geneva, but acquitted them of the more serious charge of human trafficking.Prosecutors had charged four family members: Prakash Hinduja; his wife, Kamal Hinduja; their son Ajay Hinduja; and their daughter-in-law Namrata Hinduja – with the trafficking and exploitation of several workers from India.They were accused of confiscating employees' passports and forcing them to work 16 hours a day or more without overtime pay at the villa. Lawyers representing the Hindujas had denied the allegations.The court on Friday sentenced Prakash and Kamal Hinduja to four years and six months in prison, and Ajay and Namrata Hinduja to four years, according to news agencies...