Words and source notes
Give the words on the bill a plain meaning.
If a term gets in the way, pause on it. Then ask how it applies to the care or payment being discussed.
Words that help you compare care.
Use the plain meaning, then ask for the terms that apply to your own quote.
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- Peptide
- A short chain of tiny parts, like a string of beads; proteins are built from those parts too. Insulin is a peptide medicine; the word peptide does not tell you whether a product has FDA approval, as checked September 26, 2026.
- Telehealth
- Remote care by phone, video or written messages online, with patient and care professional in different places.
- Compounding
- Preparing medicine to meet a patient’s order instead of supplying the maker’s finished product.
- FDA approval
- For a medicine’s specific use, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews the product; approval covers only that exact medicine.
- Formulary
- The list a health plan uses to show which medicines it covers.
- Prior authorization
- The approval a plan requires before paying for a prescription.
- List price
- The medicine maker’s published price, rather than a prediction of a person’s bill.
- Self-pay
- Payment without insurance; under the makers’ cash offers checked September 26, 2026, the money you pay is excluded from your deductible, meaning the amount you cover before certain plan benefits start.
- HSA and FSA
- Health savings account is shortened to HSA; flexible spending arrangement is shortened to FSA. Both hold money set aside before tax for qualifying medical costs.
- State medical board
- The state office that keeps records of doctors’ licences, along with public records of actions it has taken against them.
- State board of pharmacy
- The state body whose licence records let you check a pharmacy’s status.
No match yet. Try a shorter word or clear the search.
Match the source to the question.
A medicine’s label, the licence record and the payment rule each answer a different question.
For a product question, ask for the exact product label. For a licence question, open the state board’s record. For a payment question, ask your plan about the care being proposed.
“FDA registered” means a business is recorded with the agency; it does not mean the agency has approved that business or its medicines, under US rules checked September 26, 2026.
A product’s ID number, called a National Drug Code (NDC), does not prove FDA approval, as checked September 26, 2026.
If a website shows an approval badge or a medicine number, ask what that badge or number actually proves. Ask for the exact medicine’s approval record if the website says it is approved.