Author: Elizabeth Blessing
-
Aldi’s Honeycrisp apples drop to $1.99 for a 2-pound bag, and chicken breast family packs to $1.99 a pound
A 2-pound bag of Honeycrisp apples at Aldi now carries a $1.99 price tag, and family packs of Kirkwood chicken breast are $1.99 a pound. Both prices come from Aldi’s Sept. 23 fall price announcement, and the chain says they run through at least Nov. 3. Each is a claim by Aldi about its own…
-
Aldi says its fall price cuts at 2,600-plus stores will save shoppers $86 million
Aldi has attached a dollar figure to its autumn markdowns: $86 million in shopper savings, across more than 2,600 U.S. stores, from Sept. 23 through at least Nov. 3. The grocer announced the round in a Sept. 23 press release. The number is Aldi’s own estimate, and the release does not lay out how it…
-
Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule starts Oct. 1, capping lower-income households’ utility payment plans at 10% of income
Ten percent is the number at the center of Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule, and it describes a ceiling on a payment plan rather than a cut to the bill. The rule runs from Oct. 1 to April 30, and the ceiling reaches lower-income households that ask their utility for an agreement. The Cold Weather Rule’s…
-
Winter shutoff protections start Oct. 1 in Minnesota, Nov. 15 in New Jersey and Massachusetts, and Dec. 1 in Pennsylvania
Minnesota’s winter shutoff protection begins Oct. 1, New Jersey’s and Massachusetts’s begin Nov. 15, and Pennsylvania’s begins Dec. 1. Four separate state rules set those dates, and each carries its own income test and its own way of being triggered. In most of them, a household behind on a heating bill has to reach the…
-
Medicare will post 2027 plan star ratings around Oct. 8, before open enrollment
Medicare has put a date on the ratings that many members lean on when picking a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says 2027 star ratings will be available on Medicare.gov on or around Oct. 8, a week before Open Enrollment starts on Oct. 15. The Oct. 8…
-
Trump’s new America.gov site will add Medicare enrollment later this year, but IRS tax filing stays off it
A new federal website, America.gov, is meant to become a single front door for federal services, and Medicare enrollment is on the list of tasks the White House says it will add later this year. IRS tax filing is expressly kept off the site. The plan was laid out in a Sept. 29 fact sheet…
-
Wyoming has the priciest Medicare Advantage premiums in the country for 2027, averaging $69.23 a month
Of all the states, Wyoming faces the steepest Medicare Advantage price tag for 2027. The average monthly premium there climbs from $45.91 to $69.23 according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a rise of $23.32, or 51%, on a lineup that shrinks from 14 plans to 8. $45.91 to $69.23: the arithmetic of…
-
New York’s cheapest Medicare drug plan will cost $37.30 a month in 2027, versus $5.30 in most states
Shopping for a stand-alone Medicare drug plan for 2027 starts higher in New York than in any other state. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lists $37.30 a month as the lowest premium among the state’s stand-alone plans, against $5.30 in most states. Two tools for a 2027 drug list: The 2027 Medicare Open…
-
Ohio seniors will have 32 fewer Medicare Advantage plans to pick from in 2027, down to 180 from 212
Ohio’s Medicare Advantage market is losing 32 plans between one plan year and the next. The state’s fact sheet from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lists 180 plans available for 2027, down from 212 in 2026, a cut of about 15% and the second-largest in the country behind Florida. Ohio’s fact sheet: 212…
-
Social Security can fine SSI recipients $25 to $100 for reporting a change late
A late report to Social Security about a change in income, living arrangement or marital status can cost an SSI recipient a penalty of $25 to $100, taken out of the payment. Late is measured against a calendar that ends 10 days after the month in which the change happened. Lying or leaving out information…