Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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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…
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Treasury’s proposed rules would limit health insurance premium tax credits to citizens, nationals and certain lawfully present immigrants starting in 2027
Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have proposed rules that would limit the premium tax credit, the subsidy that lowers monthly health insurance costs on the marketplace, to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and certain lawfully present noncitizens, beginning in 2027. Treasury announced the proposed regulations on October 14, and the Federal Register’s public inspection list…
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Most Social Security beneficiaries who open a my Social Security account by November 18 can read their 2027 COLA notice online in late November
Social Security says its 2027 cost-of-living notices will be available online in late November 2026 to most beneficiaries who created a my Social Security account by November 18. The agency announced on October 14 that benefits for 76 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2027, and the notice is the document that turns that…
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The Trump administration gives 189,000 marketplace enrollees flagged for duplicate Medicaid, CHIP or Medicare coverage, or as deceased, 30 days to dispute
The Trump administration says it identified 189,000 people with subsidized Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage in 2026 who also had duplicate Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP coverage, or who were deceased, and each of them gets 30 days to dispute the finding. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the count on October 14. CMS…
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Nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries see their raised benefit with January 2027 payments under the COLA SSA set on October 14
Social Security’s 3.6 percent cost-of-living raise reaches nearly 72 million beneficiaries with their January 2027 payments, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced when it set the 2027 adjustment on October 14. SSA says the increase applies to 76 million Americans across Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and that the average retirement benefit rises…
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About 7.3 million SSI recipients get their first raised payment on December 31, when the federal monthly rate climbs to $1,029 for an individual
About 7.3 million people on Supplemental Security Income will see a higher payment for the first time on December 31, 2026. Social Security says the 3.6 percent cost-of-living increase lifts the federal monthly SSI rate to $1,029 for an individual, up from $994, and to $1,544 for a couple, up from $1,491. The new SSI…
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A proclamation President Trump signed in September bars certain Canadian dairy products from entering the country
An import ban on certain Canadian dairy products has been in force since September 29, replacing a 50 percent additional duty on the same goods. President Trump signed the measure, Proclamation 11062, on September 8, and the Federal Register published it September 14. It bans the goods outright rather than taxing them. What the proclamation…
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Snow Peak will fully refund about 100 propane fireplace inserts sold for about $350
Snow Peak is offering a full refund to the buyers of about 100 propane fireplace inserts after the lava rocks that come with them were found able to ignite and explode when heated. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on October 8, 2026, as recall number 27-021. The inserts sold for about…
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California gave buyers of dealer-sold used cars priced up to $50,000 a three-day right to cancel, in force since October 1
Since October 1, a California buyer who signs for a used car at a dealership can change course for three calendar days. The right comes from the state’s Combating Auto Retail Scams Act, known as the CARS Act, which became operative on that date. It has limits on price, mileage and the type of seller,…