[Skip to the briefing](#reading) [The Program Ledger](/) Plain words. Better questions. [← All the briefings](/) The word cabinet # Decode the words in the price discussion. Suppose the answer is full of terms you have not met before. Find the word here, then take the plain version back to the conversation. Find the word that interrupted your price discussion. ## Peptide A peptide links protein building blocks in a short string; insulin is an example. [US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · the medicine categories](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## Telehealth A telehealth appointment brings the care discussion to a video link, telephone or online exchange while the patient and the person treating them are in different places. [Medical-board guidance · remote care](https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/policies/fsmb-workgroup-on-telemedicineapril-2022-final.pdf) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## Compounding Compounding means a pharmacist, doctor or registered facility mixes ingredients or changes a medicine for a patient. The patient receives that preparation rather than a drug company’s ready-made approved medicine. [FDA · preparation for a patient](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers) Checked September 17, 2026 for this claim. ## FDA approval FDA approval means a particular medicine has passed the agency’s review for a named use; compounded medicines lack that approval as of September 2026. [FDA · what approval applies to](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/compounding-and-fda-questions-and-answers) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## Formulary A formulary tells you which medicines an insurance plan includes for payment. [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) · the plan’s medicine list](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/contract-year-2026-policy-and-technical-changes-medicare-advantage-program-medicare-prescription) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## Prior authorization Prior authorization is a review before an insurer agrees to pay for a proposed medicine. [CMS · approval before payment](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/contract-year-2026-policy-and-technical-changes-medicare-advantage-program-medicare-prescription) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## List price The list price is the drug company’s published starting figure before discounts or help with payment. In September 2026, cash offers, cards and insurance could give you a different bill. [List prices and what a patient pays](/evidence-brief/#maker-costs) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## Self-pay price A self-pay price is a cash offer outside insurance; in September 2026 those payments do not count toward insurance cost limits. [How paying cash affects insurance costs](/evidence-brief/#maker-costs) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## Savings card A drug-company savings card can reduce what a person with eligible private insurance pays. The brand-name medicine cards checked in September 2026 excluded people with Medicare, Medicaid or other government coverage. [Who can use the drug-company savings cards](/evidence-brief/#maker-costs) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## HSA and FSA The letters HSA stand for health savings account. The longer name for FSA is flexible spending arrangement. Both hold money set aside before tax for qualifying medical expenses. [Internal Revenue Service (IRS) · the account names](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p969) Checked September 26, 2026 for this claim. ## State medical board For a doctor’s licence details and disciplinary history, the public record is held by a state medical board; actions can include penalties or licence restrictions. The amount of detail you can see depends on the state. [Medical boards · the public record](https://www.fsmb.org/u.s.-medical-regulatory-trends-and-actions/guide-to-medical-regulation-in-the-united-states/information-for-consumers/) Checked September 17, 2026 for this claim. ## State pharmacy board A state pharmacy board handles pharmacy licensing; FDA links to the state search pages. [FDA · the pharmacy record search](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/locate-state-licensed-online-pharmacy) Checked September 17, 2026 for this claim. ## Accreditation Accreditation is an outside check of how a pharmacy does its work. For compounding, the Accreditation Commission for Health Care checks national standards for preparing medicines. It checks the process, rather than testing every batch. The pharmacy still needs its state licence. [Pharmacy standards · what accreditation checks](https://achc.org/pcab-compounding-pharmacy/) Checked September 17, 2026 for this claim. ## Adverse event A problem occurring during medicine use is called an adverse event. Filing a report does not establish that the drug caused the problem. [FDA · the limits of a problem report](https://www.fda.gov/drugs/fda-adverse-event-monitoring-system-aems/fda-adverse-event-monitoring-system-aems-public-dashboard) Checked September 17, 2026 for this claim. Take the next question [Find the coverage question that matters](/coverage-brief/) Or follow this question [Take the money questions into the visit](/question-brief/) Room for the question Keep a place for the answer you have not had yet. ## Keep this thought If a term is still unclear, ask the person using it to explain what it changes for your care or bill. This is a guide for thinking through care and its costs, with no appointments or medicine to offer. [Where this information comes from](/evidence-brief/) [Look up a word](/answers/) [Back to the reading](#reading) - [Read](/) - [Costs](/cost-brief/) - [Cover](/coverage-brief/) - [Ask](/question-brief/) - [Words](/answers/)