Author: Brian Lund
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Renters at apartments that used RealPage software since 2018 can claim part of a $359 million settlement
Three dates now govern this settlement, and only one of them is comfortably far off. September 1, 2026 is the deadline to opt out of the class or to file an objection. October 15, 2026 is the fairness hearing at which a federal judge in Nashville will decide whether to grant final approval. January 29,…
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AT&T’s fee schedule lists a $4.99 charge on every line, and the company says it is not a tax
Section I.A of AT&T’s Mobility Fee Schedule is a four-row table of monthly recurring charges, and the first row is the largest flat one on it. The entry is called the AT&T Administrative and Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee, and the amount column reads $4.99 per line per month. It is not a plan price, it…
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Your $800 duty-free limit on imported packages is gone for good, a trade court ruled August 13
A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade spent thirty pages on a single question this month: whether a president who cannot impose tariffs under emergency powers can nonetheless switch off the rule that let packages worth $800 or less enter the country duty free. On August 13, 2026, the panel answered yes…
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Veterans get their 2027 disability raise decided in October, and the law says it must match Social Security’s
Three dates govern a veteran’s next disability increase, and none of them has arrived. Social Security announces its cost-of-living adjustment in October, the new percentage takes effect December 1, 2026, and it first appears in the payment veterans receive in January 2027. Until that October announcement, there is no 2027 VA disability figure of any…
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Providence Health Plan is closing entirely after a rescue deal for its 64,000 Medicare Advantage members collapsed
In May, Providence Health Plan told its markets it would exit most of its insurance business for 2027 and carved out a single exception. The Oregon-based insurer said it was negotiating with an unnamed national carrier to keep its Medicare Advantage line running under new ownership, so that members could stay covered and, in most…
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Four senators say they will introduce a bill to stop student loan collectors from taking 15 percent of a Social Security check
On August 17, the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders put out a release announcing legislation the Vermont independent has not yet filed. The bill is called the Stop Social Security Garnishment Act of 2026, and it would bar the federal government from withholding any Social Security payment, including disability insurance, to collect a defaulted federal…
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Social Security’s SSI savings limit stayed at $2,000 while the payment rose to $994
The federal SSI payment standard for an individual rose to $994 a month for 2026, up from $967 the year before. The amount of savings an SSI recipient is permitted to hold did not move at all. It remains $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, the same two figures that governed in…
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Medicaid renewals go from once a year to twice, starting January 1
A Medicaid renewal starts quietly, before any mail goes out. The state first tries to confirm eligibility from records it already holds, and only when that fails does it send a prepopulated form with a minimum of 30 days to return it. Nothing about that sequence is changing. What changes on January 1, 2027, is…
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Aetna will pay brokers no commission on 123 Medicare Advantage plans in 2027
No plan is being canceled here, and no benefit is changing. What is being removed is the payment an insurance agent earns for enrolling someone. Aetna has told the third-party marketing organizations that supply its sales force that it will pay agents and brokers nothing on 123 of its Medicare Advantage plans for the 2027…
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The FTC is mailing 640,038 Grubhub refunds, and each check expires after 90 days
The deadline is printed on the face of the check. On August 12 the Federal Trade Commission began sending 640,038 payments worth more than $23.8 million to Grubhub drivers and diners, and the instruction attached to that money is a single line: cash it within 90 days, as indicated on the check. Anyone paid through…
