Jessica Mendoza

You should have taken malarazepam.

I slept like a corpse.

And we haven't figured out how, when we think one pill stops working, what to do next.

It ends up being a different or more pills.

Yeah.

I mean, one thing that a lot of people talk about is informed consent, which is making sure that when a prescriber is about to prescribe you a benzodiazepine or antidepressant, they tell you,

hey, these kind of things could happen.

We don't know if you're one of the people who might experience some of these really adverse side effects, but it's something that we'd like to let you know.

And there's all kinds of different things you can do to improve your mental health and life that doesn't always have to be in the form of a pill.

And I think that that's a discussion that maybe often you're not having when you're in the doctor's office.

I think it's just that, you know, we live in a pill-first culture and it's one that's really deeply baked into our medical system.

There are other ways to address the problems that we all struggle with, you know, depression, anxiety, and often we expect something that will help us immediately.

That's helped make this pill-first culture a reality for us.

Medicare is America's government-run health care plan. It provides care for anyone 65 and over and some people with disabilities. But what a lot of people may not realize is that a majority of those on Medicare get it through a program called Medicare Advantage.

Medicare is America's government-run health care plan. It provides care for anyone 65 and over and some people with disabilities. But what a lot of people may not realize is that a majority of those on Medicare get it through a program called Medicare Advantage.

Medicare is America's government-run health care plan. It provides care for anyone 65 and over and some people with disabilities. But what a lot of people may not realize is that a majority of those on Medicare get it through a program called Medicare Advantage.

And the thing about Medicare Advantage is that the plans are paid for by the government but managed by private insurance companies.

And the thing about Medicare Advantage is that the plans are paid for by the government but managed by private insurance companies.

And the thing about Medicare Advantage is that the plans are paid for by the government but managed by private insurance companies.

My colleagues Ana and Chris have been investigating the Medicare Advantage program for over a year. So when you and the team looked into the program, what did you find?