Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Insurance now takes 14 percent of the average homeowner’s monthly mortgage payment
Homeowners insurance has quietly become one of the largest recurring costs layered onto a monthly mortgage bill. New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas finds that for the average homeowner nationally, the insurance premium now equals 14 percent of the monthly payment covering mortgage principal and interest, up from 10 percent in 2013.…
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Water and sewer bills run a median $1,065 a year, and $245 a month in Maryland
American households paid a median of $1,065 for water and sewer service over the past year, according to a new industry report, a bill that rarely gets its own line item the way rent or groceries do. In Maryland, the same report found a typical monthly water and sewer bill of $245, the highest of…
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In 12 states more than a fifth of Medicare Advantage members were forced to change plans this year
A peer-reviewed study published in JAMA in February 2026 found that the share of Medicare Advantage enrollees forced out of their health plan jumped to 10 percent nationally heading into this year’s coverage, roughly ten times the historical average. In 12 states, more than one in five Medicare Advantage members had no choice in the…
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The VA says it negotiated $10.44 billion off drug prices this year
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it negotiated $10.44 billion off the price of prescription drugs so far in fiscal year 2026, the largest total the agency says it has recorded for a single year. VA Secretary Doug Collins tied the number to tougher negotiating with drug manufacturers, saying the department is delivering what he…
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Supplemental Security Income still cuts off at $2,000 in savings, while the monthly payment rose to $994
The Social Security Administration’s 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment fact sheet confirms that the maximum federal Supplemental Security Income payment climbed to $994 a month for an individual, up from $967 in 2025, and to $1,491 for a couple. The raise comes from a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment applied across Social Security and SSI alike. But the…
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Original Medicare sets no yearly ceiling on what a patient pays, and hospital coverage stops entirely after day 150
Original Medicare has no yearly ceiling on what a patient pays out of pocket, and for someone facing a long hospital stay, the bill does not level off with time in the bed — it climbs in stages. A short admission can cost far less than a marathon one, and past a certain point, Original…
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Medicare’s switching window opens October 15 and closes December 7
People on Medicare get one set window each fall to rework their coverage for the year ahead, and a plan chosen once and left alone can quietly turn expensive if premiums rise or a pharmacy drops out of the network. This year’s window opens October 15 and runs through December 7, and the choice made…
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Medicare’s 2027 base drug-plan premium is $41.33 only because a legal cap blocked $94.06
Medicare’s Part D base beneficiary premium for 2027 will be $41.33, according to the annual bid announcement the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released July 28, 2026. That figure matters less for what it is than for what it replaced: the same statutory formula that produced $41.33 also produced a second, higher result —…
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The IRS is telling taxpayers to photograph their belongings now, because a disaster loss claim depends on records
The Internal Revenue Service opened National Preparedness Month with a specific instruction for taxpayers: photograph and video what a household owns before a wildfire, flood, or hurricane takes it. In a September 3 announcement, the agency said that recovering after a disaster, filing an insurance claim, and claiming a tax benefit for lost property all…
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Treasury proposes limiting the refunded part of four tax credits to citizens and qualified immigrants
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have proposed a new regulation that would limit who can receive the refunded portion of four federal tax credits, applying a citizenship and immigration status test that has not been enforced this way before. The rule targets the cash-back piece of the Adoption Tax Credit, the Child…
