Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Hospitals and health systems across the country are starting the new year by cutting ties with Medicare Advantage, leaving many older adults to discover that their trusted doctors and hospitals are suddenly out of network. The shift is not limited to a single region or insurer, and it reflects deeper tension over how these private…
Medicare Advantage has gone from a niche option to a political and financial flashpoint, and the debate is no longer confined to policy circles. When “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver and personal finance star Suze Orman both urge older Americans to rethink these private plans, it signals that the stakes for retirees are high…
UnitedHealth’s decision to push roughly one million seniors out of its Medicare Advantage products marks a break from the incremental tweaks that usually define this market. For older Americans who built their budgets and care relationships around these plans, the shift is not an abstract business story but a direct hit to how they will…
Higher income retirees are on track to shoulder larger Medicare bills in 2026, as new income brackets push more people into surcharge territory and raise costs at the very top. The changes will hit both Medicare Part B doctor coverage and Part D drug plans, reshaping what affluent households pay even if their health needs…
President Donald Trump is selling his latest health agenda as a simple promise: cheaper drugs now and leaner federal spending tomorrow. Economists across the spectrum are warning that the real price tag may be paid later, in fewer medical breakthroughs, weaker safety nets, and deeper state budget crises. Their concern is not about one program…
When the federal government shut down earlier this year and SNAP payments abruptly stopped, the country saw how quickly a political standoff could turn into a hunger emergency. With core benefits frozen and families suddenly cut off from grocery money, a parallel, privately funded safety net had to materialize in days to keep food on…
The health care system is bracing for a shock as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act begins to reshape coverage, costs, and basic protections. Nonpartisan estimates indicate that close to 11 million people could lose insurance as key Medicaid and Affordable Care Act supports are rolled back, with ripple effects for hospitals, state budgets, and…
Trump officials are promoting a cheaper alternative to Obamacare coverage, promising relief from rising premiums just as enhanced subsidies are set to wind down. The pitch is simple: skinnier plans, more flexibility, and lower monthly costs for people who feel priced out of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. The catch is buried in the fine…
Congress has left Washington for the holidays without a deal to preserve key Affordable Care Act subsidies, and it is not scheduled to return until 2026. That decision effectively locks in steep premium increases for millions of people who buy coverage on the individual market, turning next year’s health costs into collateral damage of a…
Thousands of older adults who rely on Medicare gap coverage are about to be caught in a squeeze, as a major insurer’s decision to exit the market collides with sweeping changes to Medicare in 2026. The result is a confusing, high stakes moment in which retirees risk losing financial protection just as premiums, deductibles and…