From Robert Laura; Forbes ~ May 24, 2018
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but retirement doesn’t always turn out the way people think. Primarily because this stage of life can intersect with an avalanche of activity that causes a massive amount of stress, worry and anxiety. As a result, people can often suffer in silence as they try to figure out what’s going on.
By Sarah O’Brien; CNBC ~ May 24, 2018
• A quarter of older Americans say that after their Medicare Part B premium is deducted from their Social Security check, they’re left with no more than they had last year.
• Another 18 percent say they’ve seen a boost of less than $5 a month.
From Ike Brannon; Forbes ~ May 23, 2018
An elementary moral hazard problem plagues investment funds–namely that those of us who put our money in one of them simply do not have the ability to fully monitor what the investors do on our behalf, and they do occasionally possess priorities beyond maximizing our return. The debate over the fiduciary rule–which is still ongoing, of course–rested upon that perception.
By Sydney Lupkin; Kaiser Health News ~ May 23, 2018
Makers of brand-name drugs called out by the Trump administration for potentially stalling generic competition have hiked their prices by double-digit percentages since 2012 and cost Medicare and Medicaid nearly $12 billion in 2016, a Kaiser Health News analysis has found.
By Jane E. Brody; The New York Times ~ May 21, 2018
Barbara Ehrenreich, popular author and self-described mythbuster, has written about how, having reached her mid-70s, she has lived long enough and now forgoes regular medical exams. And Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a 60-year-old oncologist and bioethicist, argues that we might all be better off, himself included, if he dies at 75.
By Dan Caplinger; The Motley Fool ~ May 19, 2018
The vast majority of American retirees get benefits from Social Security, and many of them depend on the program to provide them with the majority of their regular income in retirement. One of the best features of Social Security is that monthly payments are tied to the rate of inflation, so most of the time, recipients get benefit increases every January that match up with rising prices.
By Mari Silbey; Light Reading ~ May 18, 2018
AT&T has confirmed that it will launch a premium over-the-top video service later this year, but it hasn’t answered one fundamental question about how it will bring that service to market: What role will Google play?
From KHN Morning Briefing; Kaiser Health News ~ May 15, 2018
HHS Secretary Alex Azar blasted a long-standing Democratic idea for Medicare to negotiate drug prices, saying it would deny access to medicines “through rationing or setting prices,” which he called a “move toward socialized medicine.” However, Azar did promise to upend Medicare Part B’s payment structure.
By Peter Sullivan; The Hill ~ May 15, 2018
The main drug industry lobbying group on Tuesday said that it had “serious concerns” with major elements of President Trump’s new plan to bring down drug prices.
In the first extended remarks on the plan since Trump unveiled it last Friday, Lori Reilly, an executive vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), pointed to several proposals she said would harm patient access to drugs.
By Lisa L. Gill; Consumer Reports ~ May 11, 2018
President Donald Trump today outlined a set of proposals that he hopes will lower the high and increasing cost of prescription drugs for millions of Americans.
If enacted, the most dramatic changes could alter how drugs are purchased and sold among drug companies, insurers, and industry middlemen, fundamentally restructuring a complex, decades-old system.