By Sarah Thomas; Light Reading ~ Mar 16, 2015

AT&T is hoping to its associate its network with a new moniker, “strongest 4G LTE signal,” and it’s enlisting the help of four of basketball’s greatest to make the new tagline stick.

The carrier is running a series of commercials around March Madness with retired basketball all-stars Shaquille O’Neal, Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner centered on its claim to have the strongest 4G LTE signal.

So what makes an LTE signal the strongest, you ask? AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) CMO David Christopher tells CNet it’s related to reliability and means its customers won’t experience service interruptions like video buffering or songs skipping.

By Guy Gugliotta; The Washington Post ~ Mar 15, 2015

MOUNT VERNON, Tex. — Despite residents’ concerns and a continuing need for services, the 25-bed hospital that served this small East Texas town for more than 25 years closed its doors at the end of 2014, joining the ranks of dozens of other small rural hospitals that have been unable to weather the punishment of a changing national health-care environment.

For the high percentages of elderly and uninsured patients who live in rural areas, closures mean longer trips for treatment and uncertainty during times of crisis. “I came to the emergency room when I had panic attacks,” said George Taylor, 60, a retired federal government employee. “It was very soothing and the staff was great. I can’t imagine Mount Vernon without a hospital.”

By Brian Tumulty, USA Today; Poughkeepsie Journal ~ Mar 14, 2015

WASHINGTON – Medicare and even supplemental Medicare insurance plans won’t pay for almost $41,000 in recurring health care costs — such as routine checkups, co-pays and visits to the dentist — for the average retiree, according to a recent study.

“A lot of people assume they are going to get on Medicare and then all their health costs are covered,” said Nicole Duritz, AARP’s vice president for health, education and outreach. “They understand there is a premium. But they don’t understand that, like all health plans, some things are covered and some things are not covered.’’

The Employee Benefits Research Institute study found that recurring health care costs are generally predictable for people between 65 and 90. Assuming an inflation rate of 2 percent and a lifespan of 90 years, people retiring at 65 would need to spend $40,798 of their own money on such costs, it said.

By Stephen Ohlemacher; The Associated Press ~ Mar 14, 2015

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are getting older, but not this old: Social Security records show that 6.5 million people in the U.S. have reached the ripe old age of 112.

In reality, only few could possibly be alive. As of last fall, there were only 42 people known to be that old in the entire world.

But Social Security does not have death records for millions of these people, with the oldest born in 1869, according to a report by the agency’s inspector general.

By Jordain Carney; The Hill ~ Mar 13, 2015

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has introduced legislation to bolster Social Security by increasing taxes on higher earners.

The Social Security Expansion Act would subject all income over $250,000 to the payroll tax. The tax is currently capped at $118,500. It would also subject unearned household income above $250,000 to a 6.2 percent tax.

By Sarah Ferris; The Hill ~ Mar 13, 2015

More than 200 members of Congress are lobbying the Obama administration not to make cuts in a popular Medicare program that covers about 16 million seniors nationwide.

“We strongly believe that cuts to [Medicare Advantage] would be deeply unfair to millions of constituents,” a bipartisan group of 239 lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Thursday.

By Ayla Ellison ; Becker’s Hospital Review ~ Mar 13, 2015

House leaders are discussing a deal that would permanently avert Medicare payment cuts to physicians and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to The Hill.

U.S. Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top two members of two key committees, confirmed a permanent fix is being discussed, according to the report.

By Todd Shields; Bloomberg ~ Mar 13, 2015

(Bloomberg) — The Federal Communications Commission paused its reviews of Comcast Corp.’s bid for Time Warner Cable Inc. and AT&T Inc.’s proposed purchase of DirecTV.

The FCC is awaiting a court ruling on whether CBS Corp. and other media companies need to divulge programming contracts for the reviews, the agency said in a notice posted on its website. It said it was pausing the 180-day clocks that set informal deadlines for its rulings.

A U.S. appeals court heard arguments on the media companies’ petition to protect their documents on Feb. 20, and hasn’t issued its opinion. The FCC in the order Friday said it “would be advantaged by knowing the resolution” before the informal clocks reach the 180-day mark, which they were slated to do by the end of this month.

By Henry K. Hebeler; MarketWatch ~ Mar 12, 2015

Everyone wants us to spend.

Spending more may make good political fodder and spur temporary economic growth, but not for the long-term. It’s leading us to an economy where a growing elderly population will be left in poverty and the percentage of workers to provide the taxes for their support is falling.

This is an inevitable and irreversible consequence of the failure of people to save and the demographic results of lower birthrates.

Here are five reasons why American retirees are headed for disaster:

By Kendall Breitman; Politico ~ Mar 12, 2015

The government is America’s most important problem, according to a new poll.

In a Gallup poll released Thursday, 18 percent of Americans named government as the biggest problem facing the U.S.

The economy trailed closely behind as an important problem with 11 percent, followed by “unemployment/jobs” at 10 percent.

The poll shows a slight increase in those who are dissatisfied with government. In February, 17 percent answered that the government is the most important problem. Americans also seem to be optimistic about the economy. Last month, 16 percent of Americans said that the economy was the most important problem — nearly tying with government. That figure is now down 5 percentage points.