Category: Benefits & Retirement
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Humana is cutting Medicare Advantage plans that cover about 8% of its members for a second straight year
About 600,000 people are about to get a letter that changes their health coverage. That is roughly 8% of the 7.2 million members enrolled in Humana’s Medicare Advantage plans, and the company is walking away from their plans for 2027. It is the second year running that Humana has pruned its lineup, and for the…
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TrumpRx.gov will sell some prescription drugs directly to consumers at lower cash prices
The federal government has launched a website, TrumpRx.gov, that the administration says will let people see and compare cash prices for prescription drugs — and, in some cases, buy them directly at lower prices than they might pay otherwise. The platform was announced earlier this year and has been expanding since, with the administration positioning…
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Millions could lose Medicaid as new work rules and twice-a-year eligibility checks arrive in 2027
A pair of Medicaid changes that take hold in 2027 could quietly cost millions of Americans their health coverage, not because they are ineligible, but because keeping it will take more paperwork than many can manage. Starting January 1, 2027, a large group of adults on Medicaid will have to prove they are working, studying,…
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Social Security is fast-tracking 14 more conditions for near-automatic disability approval
The Social Security Administration has added 14 more medical conditions to a program built to move the sickest applicants to the front of the line for disability benefits. Announced on August 11, 2026, the update expands what is called the Compassionate Allowances list to 314 conditions in all. For a family facing one of these…
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A letter saying your hospital left your Advantage plan can open a special window to switch — but you must ask
When a Medicare Advantage plan and a hospital system part ways, members get a letter in the mail. It is easy to skim that notice, feel annoyed, and file it away. But buried in that kind of letter can be the key to a rarely used escape hatch: a special window to switch plans outside…
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Defaulted student loans can take up to 15% of a Social Security check, and rehabilitation is the way off the list
Most people assume Social Security benefits are untouchable. For one specific debt, they are not. If you are in default on a federal student loan, the government can reach into your monthly Social Security payment and skim off a portion of it, without a court order and without your agreement. It is a rule that…
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Social Security gives you 60 days to appeal or seek a waiver before it starts clawing back an overpayment
A letter from the Social Security Administration saying you were paid too much can be alarming, especially on a fixed income. But an overpayment notice is not a final bill, and it does not mean money will vanish from your next check without warning. The agency’s own rules give you a window to push back…
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Ohio State’s hospitals leave Humana’s Medicare Advantage network October 1, forcing patients to switch or pay
Patients who get their care at Ohio State University’s hospitals and carry a Humana Medicare Advantage plan are facing a hard deadline. Beginning October 1, 2026, Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, the James Cancer Center, and OSU-affiliated physicians will be out of network for Humana Medicare Advantage and Humana Medicaid members. That means care you…
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Retired teachers, police and firefighters are owed Social Security back pay to 2024 after Congress repealed two cuts
If you spent your career as a teacher, police officer, firefighter or other public employee, and your pension came from a job that did not pay into Social Security, two long-standing rules may have quietly shrunk or erased any Social Security benefit you or your spouse were due. Congress repealed both of those rules, and…
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Medicare now covers Wegovy and Zepbound for about $50 a month through 2027
For the first time, some Medicare beneficiaries can fill certain popular GLP-1 weight-loss medications for a flat $50 a month. The catch worth understanding up front is that this is a temporary program with an expiration date, not a permanent new Medicare benefit. It is called the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, and for households where a…
