Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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North Carolina’s state health plan starts at $36.76 a month for a subscriber earning under $50,000 next year, with enrollment closing November 6
North Carolina state employees pay as little as $36.76 a month for 2027 coverage in the State Health Plan, and the choice has to be made by November 6. That price belongs to the Standard PPO plan, covering the subscriber alone, in the lowest salary band, according to the plan’s 2027 premium rate sheet for…
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The 2025 tax law gives people 65 and older a $6,000 deduction through 2028, and a married couple must file jointly to take it
A new federal tax break for older Americans comes with a filing-status rule that can shut out married couples. The 2025 tax law lets people age 65 and older take an extra $6,000 deduction for tax years 2025 through 2028, but a married taxpayer has to file a joint return to claim it. Couples who…
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Michigan’s attorney general asked regulators to cut the approximately $456 million annual electric rate request of Consumers Energy, which sells electricity to about 1.9 million customers
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked state regulators to cut a Consumers Energy electric rate increase roughly in half, arguing the utility is asking for far more than it can justify. The company wants to raise electric rates by approximately $456 million a year, and the attorney general’s office wants that request reduced by…
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USDA’s own public work-requirements page still tells readers the SNAP time limit stops at 54
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s public SNAP page on work requirements still describes the time limit as applying to adults aged 18 to 54. That is out of step with a USDA memo dated October 3, 2025, which says people aged 18 to 64 are now subject to the limit. The page, which USDA’s Food…
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Georgia’s state health plan sets a zero in-network deductible on its Standard and Premium Medicare Advantage retiree options next year, and the change window closes November 6
Georgia’s State Health Benefit Plan lists a $0 deductible on its Standard and Premium Medicare Advantage options for 2027, and retirees have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern on November 6 to change their coverage. The plan’s 2027 retiree guide says the Retiree Open Change Period begins Monday, October 19, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern. The window is…
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Hyundai and Kia theft claims are paid on a rolling basis until the limited fund is exhausted, and the theft must fall before March 31, 2027
Hyundai and Kia owners whose cars were stolen, or nearly stolen, because of the missing factory immobilizer can be paid up to $4,500, but the money is limited and goes out in the order claims arrive. The multistate settlement’s administrator site says funds “will be disbursed on a rolling basis until the limited fund is…
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The IRS says it cannot pay a refund claimed more than three years after the return was filed, or two years after the tax was paid, whichever is later
The Internal Revenue Service gives taxpayers a fixed window to ask for money back on an old return, and once the window shuts, the money stays with the Treasury. The IRS’s page on the time limit for claiming a credit or refund says the deadline is generally the later of two dates: three years from…
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Nebraska’s plan to exclude soda from SNAP in December is still only proposed, and USDA says it is considering it
Nebraska has asked to stop SNAP benefits from paying for soda starting December 1, but no approval exists yet. The state’s request is a proposal, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said only that it is weighing it. Until USDA publishes a decision, SNAP shoppers in Nebraska can still buy soda with their benefits.…
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Washington says its SNAP recipients only face the three-month time limit after a screening at their next eligibility review
Washington households that get Basic Food, the state’s name for SNAP, are sorted for the federal three-month time limit at a specific moment: when a caseworker screens the case at an eligibility review. The state’s eligibility manual revision, issued May 26, 2026, tells staff to screen for the limit “at application, eligibility review, and when…
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Washington public retirees on Medicare in the UnitedHealthcare PEBB Balance plan pay $279.61 a month for subscriber-only coverage, before Part B, from January 1, and the state’s enrollment window closes November 23
Washington’s Health Care Authority has set the 2027 monthly premium for the UnitedHealthcare PEBB Balance plan at $279.61 for a retiree on Medicare who covers only themselves. The rate takes effect January 1, 2027, and the agency’s annual open enrollment for public retirees runs October 26 through November 23, 2026. What the 2027 premium sheet…