By Thomas Beaton; HealthPayer Intelligence ~  Aug 03, 2018

August 03, 2018 – CMS has announced that monthly Medicare Part D premiums are expected to fall from $33.59 in 2018 to $32.50 in 2019 as new policies to reduce Medicare’s drug costs take effect.

Earlier in 2018, CMS issued a final rule that made several changes to Medicare Part D drug purchasing such as increasing generic drug substitution across Medicare, lowering the cost of biosimilars for consumers, and expanding the number of available Part D plans and pharmacy options.

By Jessie Hellmann; The Hill ~ Aug 03, 2018

Hospitals will be required to post online a list of their standard charges under a rule finalized Thursday by the Trump administration.

While hospitals are already required to make this information public on request, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the new rule would require the info be posted online to “encourage price transparency” and improve “public accessibility.”

From Jennifer Greenfield; CNN ~ Aug 03, 2018

Editor’s Note: “Jennifer Greenfield is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.”

From Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Aug 02, 2018

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Social Security is unaffordable due to our aging population.

Social Security is a driver of our national debt.

Social Security is built on a house of cards – its assets are just IOUs.

By Maurie Backman; The Motley Fool ~ Jul 31, 2018

Millions of seniors depend on Social Security to pay the bills in retirement. But in recent years, those benefits have been letting retirees down.

Since 2000, Social Security beneficiaries have lost 34% of their buying power, according to data from the Senior Citizens League.

From Bob Carlson; Forbes ~ Jul 29, 2018

Most folks want to stay in their homes for as long as possible. An AARP survey in 2015 said that’s the goal of almost 90% of those age 65 or older. If you’re in that group, you need a plan.

By Sean Williams, Motley Fool – July 29, 2018

When discussing America’s most important social programs, Social Security is arguably at the top of the list. Aside from the fact that 62.5 million people are receiving a benefit check each month, more than three out of five retired workers (which comprise 69% of the aforementioned 62.5 million beneficiaries) are reliant on the program to provide at least half of their monthly income.

By Carol Wilson; Light Reading ~ Jul 26, 2018

AT&T today closed on its purchased of AppNexus, a global advertising technology platform, further advancing its stated strategy of leveraging its new position as a content owner as well as a distributor to change how advertising is done.

By Pushkala Aripaka; Reuters ~ Jul 24, 2018

(Reuters) – AT&T Inc reported quarterly revenue that fell shy of Wall Street estimates, sending its shares down about 1 percent after the close of regular trading.

After a six-week trial, the second-largest U.S. carrier by subscribers won court approval last month to close its $85 billion acquisition of media company Time Warner Inc and began bundling the content it gains from the deal with new wireless plans in an effort to drive subscriber growth.

Plaintiffs have until July 30 to file amended complaint

By Robert Steyer; Pensions & Investments ~ Jul 23, 2018

A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles dismissed claims by participants in the AT&T Retirement Services Plan, Dallas, that plan fiduciaries failed, among other things, to use the plan’s large size to “obtain reasonable” record-keeping fees and failed to monitor its record keeper’s total compensation leading to “unreasonable administrative expenses.”