By Sean Williams; The Motley Fool ~ Jul 02, 2017
The Social Security program is vitally important to the financial well-being of our nation’s retired seniors. According to statistics from the Social Security Administration, more than three in five seniors, as well as 71% of unmarried elderly retirees receiving benefits, count on Social Security to provide for at least half of their monthly income.
By Charles Ornstein; ProPublica ~ Jun 29, 2017
In the past few years, many seniors and disabled people have eschewed traditional Medicare coverage to enroll in privately run health plans paid for by Medicare, which often come with lower out-of-pocket costs and some enhanced benefits.
These so-called Medicare Advantage plans now enroll more than a third of the 58 million beneficiaries in the Medicare program, a share that grows by the month.
From “News Wire Feed”; Light Reading ~ Jun 28, 2017
AT&T will conduct a 10Gbps XGS-PON field trial in late 2017 as part of its plan to virtualize access functions within the last mile network.
The next-generation PON trial will aim to give consumer and business customers multi-gigabit per second (Gbps) internet speeds. The goal is to support the merging of all services on a single network, including 5G wireless infrastructure.
By Ali Meyer; The Washington Free Beacon ~ Jun 26, 2017
The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, the Senate Republican replacement to the Affordable Care Act, is estimated to reduce the deficit by $321 billion from 2017 to 2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the legislation.
In comparison to the Obamacare replacement, the American Health Care Act, passed by the House, this bill would save an additional $202 billion over this time period.
From Ryan Ellis; Forbes ~ Jun 26, 2017
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today released their score of the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” (BCRA). There’s the usual nonsense about how millions of people will lose coverage (which only makes sense if you think the individual mandate is a good idea or that using an outdated Medicaid coverage baseline is sound actuarial science), all of which can be safely ignored as #fakenews.
By Paul Kane; The Washington Post ~ Jun 24, 2017
The stark divide among Republicans on reshaping the nation’s health system came into full view over the past few days.
Formally unveiled Thursday, the Senate Republican plan came under immediate friendly fire from within Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s GOP conference. The Kentucky Republican has just a few days to navigate the perilous path in trying to appease one bloc of holdouts without losing votes from another bloc.
From Mike Rothman; The Hill ~ Jun 21, 2017
It’s no small feat to reach retirement age with a hard-earned, carefully-invested nest egg built up over a lifetime of work. It’s no small loss to learn you’ve been a victim of fraud, and the financial security you planned for has been jeopardized. That’s why it’s no small task to ensure we have a vigilant financial community that proactively protects our seniors and their savings.
From David Merritt; The Hill ~ Jun 20, 2017
Prescription drug prices are out of control.
From EpiPens to oncology drugs, too many medications are priced too high for American families to afford. The consequences hit everyone, from patients and businesses to hospitals and hardworking taxpayers.
From Nancy L. Anderson; Forbes ~ Jun 18, 2017
Our financial lives can get complicated, and sometimes things slip through the cracks.
I forgot about an old account when I moved from California to Utah a few years ago. I kept $140 in a checking account at a credit union to maintain membership, since credit unions often have great auto loan rates. The account slipped my mind, and I never notified them that I had moved.
From HealthDay News; WXOW ~ Jun 17, 2017
(HealthDay News) — The American Medical Association is calling for more transparency in drug pricing amid skyrocketing costs that are putting some lifesaving medications out of reach for patients and communities.
During its annual meeting, the doctors’ group adopted new policies on drug pricing to protect patients.
