Thinner benefits and coverage changes await many older Americans shopping for health insurance this fall. That’s if their plan is even still available in 2025. More than a million people will probably have to find new coverage as major insurers cut costs and pull back from markets for Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run version … Read more
Shopping season for Medicare coverage is about to begin. With it comes the annual onslaught of TV ads and choices to consider. People eligible for the federal government’s Medicare program will have from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 to sign up for 2025 Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the program. They … Read more
WASHINGTON — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he told a congressional committee Tuesday. Favre made the disclosure as part of his testimony about a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi. Favre, who does not face criminal charges, has repaid just over $1 million in speaking fees funded by a welfare … Read more
NEW ORLEANS — A constitutional challenge to the Biden administration program enabling Medicare to negotiate lower prices for widely used prescription drugs was revived by a federal appeals court in New Orleans in a 2-1 decision Friday. Congress created the program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022. The first 10 drugs … Read more
McALLEN, Texas — For three days, the staff of an Orlando medical clinic encouraged a woman with abdominal pain who called the triage line to go to the hospital. She resisted, scared of a 2023 Florida law that required hospitals to ask whether a patient was in the U.S. with legal permission. The clinic had … Read more
LAS VEGAS — Nevada is primed to become the 18th state to use Medicaid funds to increase access to abortion for lower-income women. The change is a result of a court ruling that became official this week after the state government declined to appeal it within 30 days of the release of a written opinion … Read more
From the looks of it, the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert hasn’t done too much with the $24 million it received in federal pandemic aid. The site where it plans to spend most of the money for a crime victims center remains an empty plot of dirt. And just one-quarter of its funds are obligated for … Read more
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri Planned Parenthoods filed legal challenges Monday against a new law that kicked the organizations off the federal Medicaid health insurance program. Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers said they are filing complaints with the state’s Administrative Hearing Commission, which functions as a court to hear disputes between Missouri … Read more
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — On the heels of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September. U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the … Read more
NEW YORK — A U.S. government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children. The report, based on an analysis of previously published research, marks the first time a federal agency has determined — “with moderate confidence” — that there … Read more
