Main Street Dollars

—

by

There is a specific group of people for whom this number means something immediately: the 626,000 Medicare Part D enrollees who filled a Breo Ellipta prescription in a single year, most of them managing COPD or asthma. Starting January 1, 2027, Medicare’s negotiated price for a 30-day supply of that inhaler is $67. The 2024…

A subsidy holding down standalone Medicare drug-plan premiums ends after this year

—

by

Every fall, before open enrollment opens, your Medicare drug plan mails you an Annual Notice of Change. Most people skim it. This year, if you are in a standalone prescription drug plan rather than a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, the premium line is worth a slower read, because a federal support that has…

Fairview stops scheduling UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on January 1, and names three insurers it will still take

—

by

Brian Lund

If you carry a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage card in Minnesota, this change will most likely reach you at a scheduling desk. You call to book a follow-up for next spring, you read off the name printed on the card, and the answer is that the appointment cannot be made. M Health Fairview has put the…

Ohio State’s hospitals go out of network with 16 Humana plans on October 1

—

by

Take the Humana card out of your wallet and read the plan name printed on it. The full name is what matters here, not just the word “Humana,” because Ohio State has published a list of sixteen specific Humana plans and the list is the whole story. On October 1, 2026, every plan on it…

Teachers, firefighters and other public retirees are getting bigger Social Security checks and back pay under a 2025 law

—

by

in Social Security

For decades, a retired teacher or firefighter who also earned Social Security through other work could watch a big chunk of that benefit vanish because of a pension from a job that did not pay into the system. A 2025 law ended that. The Social Security Fairness Act repealed the two provisions responsible, and as…

Social Security can withhold half your monthly check to recover an overpayment

—

by

Brian Lund

in Social Security

Few letters land harder than one from Social Security saying you were overpaid and the money has to come back. What makes it worse is how the agency now recovers it: by default, it can hold back up to half of your monthly benefit until the balance is repaid. For someone who counts on that…

Social Security’s 2027 raise is now projected near 3.6%, about $70 more a month

—

by

in Social Security

Every fall, tens of millions of retirees wait to learn how much bigger their Social Security check will be, and the early forecasts are starting to come in. One closely watched estimate now puts the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment near 3.6 percent, which would add roughly $70 a month to the average retiree’s benefit. It is…

Humana is dropping Medicare Advantage plans covering 600,000 members, with letters landing in September

—

by

If you get your Medicare coverage through a Humana Advantage plan, the mail this fall could carry a decision that reshapes your 2027. Humana has confirmed it will exit Medicare Advantage plans covering roughly 600,000 members next year, and affected households are expected to start receiving notification letters in September. A dropped plan is not…

Traditional IRA withdrawals now must start at 73, or the IRS charges a penalty

Aug 14, 2026

—

by

in 401(k) & IRA

For decades you are told to leave your retirement savings alone and let them grow. At a certain age, the government flips that advice and requires you to start taking money out, whether you need it or not. For traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, those required withdrawals now begin at age 73, and missing one triggers…

A Medicare program called Extra Help can cut a senior’s drug costs by about $5,900 a year

Aug 14, 2026

—

by