Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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California regular gas averaged $6.10 a gallon and diesel $8.09 in EIA’s latest survey
California drivers paid an average of $6.104 a gallon for regular gasoline and $8.091 for diesel in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey for October 12, which rounds to $6.10 and $8.09. EIA posted the figures on its gasoline and diesel fuel update on October 14. Both are well above the national averages in…
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Stelara, Entresto and Xarelto leave Medicare’s drug price negotiation program on January 1, 2027
Three of the first ten drugs Medicare negotiated prices for will drop out of the program on January 1, 2027, one year after their negotiated prices took effect. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists Stelara, Entresto and Xarelto as removed from the negotiation program with a removal effective date of January 1,…
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Virginia’s old SNAP magstripe cards stop working 60 days after chip cards mail
Virginia households on SNAP will lose the use of their old magnetic stripe EBT card 60 days after the state mails the new chip card, whether or not the new card has been activated. The Virginia Department of Social Services says the old card “will automatically deactivate 60 days after the new card is mailed,…
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SSI’s federal payment for a couple rises to $1,544 a month on December 31
An eligible couple on Supplemental Security Income will see the federal monthly payment rise from $1,491 to $1,544 in 2027, an increase of $53. Social Security’s actuaries list the new couple rate in their table of SSI federal payment amounts, and the agency says increased payments to about 7.3 million SSI recipients will begin on…
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Electric-heated homes are forecast to spend $1,637 this winter in the Northeast, $1,380 in the Midwest and $1,151 in the West, EIA says
The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that homes heated mainly with electricity will spend $1,637 on electricity this winter in the Northeast, $1,380 in the Midwest and $1,151 in the West. The numbers come from EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook, released October 6, and cover November through March. The South is forecast at $1,079, and the…
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Western households heating with natural gas are expected to pay $590 this winter, the only region where EIA sees gas heating bills rising
Natural gas heating bills are forecast to fall in three of four U.S. regions this winter and rise in one. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects Western households that heat mainly with natural gas to pay $590 from November through March, up 7 percent from last winter, according to its Winter Fuels Outlook, published…
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At least seven insurers are leaving the ACA marketplace in 2027, forcing consumers in 20 states to switch plans, the Commonwealth Fund says
At least seven insurers will stop selling Affordable Care Act marketplace plans in 2027, and the Commonwealth Fund says their exits will force consumers in 20 states to switch to new plans next year. The count comes from an October 8 post by three Georgetown University health policy researchers, Stacey Pogue, Abigail Knapp and Justin…
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ACA enrollees earning more than $63,840 as a single person, or $132,000 or more for a family of four, get no premium help in 2027, the Commonwealth Fund says
ACA marketplace enrollees with incomes of more than $63,840 as a single person, or $132,000 or more for a family of four, get no premium help in 2027, the Commonwealth Fund says. The figures come from an October 8 post by Georgetown University researchers Stacey Pogue, Abigail Knapp and Justin Giovannelli. Anyone over those lines…
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Nine FEHB plans and one postal health plan end in 2027, and enrollees who skip the November 9 to December 14 open season get moved to a default plan
Ten federal health plans will not be offered next year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says: nine in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and one in the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program. Enrollees in those plans have to choose a new one during open season, which runs from November 9 through…
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A 40-year-old just above the ACA subsidy cutoff who paid $445 a month in 2025 could owe $719 a month in 2027, a Commonwealth Fund analysis estimates
A 40-year-old whose income sits just above the cutoff for ACA premium help, and who paid $445 a month after tax credits in 2025, could owe $719 a month in 2027, a Commonwealth Fund analysis estimates. By the arithmetic of those two figures, that is $274 more each month, or $3,288 over a year. The…