Category: Cost of Living
-
New Jersey bars utility shutoffs for protected customers from November 15 to March 15
New Jersey households that are on certain benefit programs, or that cannot pay because of circumstances outside their control, cannot have their electric, gas, water or wastewater service shut off from November 15 through March 15. The state’s Board of Public Utilities runs the rule as its Winter Termination Program and says the protection covers…
-
Virginia’s SNAP ban on sweetened beverages starts November 1 after an earlier delay
Virginia’s ban on using SNAP benefits to buy sweetened beverages is listed to start on November 1, 2026, according to the target implementation date in USDA’s state-by-state waiver table. The date follows one documented delay: in February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved moving the start from April 1 to October 1, 2026. From April…
-
Marketplace open enrollment starts November 1, and December 15 is the cutoff for coverage that begins January 1
Open enrollment for 2027 Marketplace health plans begins November 1, according to HealthCare.gov. People who want coverage to start on January 1 have until December 15 to sign up or change plans, even though enrollment itself stays open for another month after that. The three dates on the HealthCare.gov calendar HealthCare.gov’s dates and deadlines page…
-
TrumpRx opened with 43 medications priced from $3.15 for Medrol to $2,217 for Ngenla, all of it cash-pay with no insurance
TrumpRx, the federal website for discounted drug prices, opened in February with 43 medications, priced from $3.15 for Medrol to $2,217 for Ngenla. CBS News reported on February 6, 2026 that the discounts are available only to patients paying cash: the site does not accept insurance, and money spent there does not count toward a…
-
Households that heat with oil are forecast to spend $2,115 between November and March, including a $509 bill in January alone
A household that heats with oil is forecast to spend $2,115 on fuel from November through March, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency’s winter fuels outlook, published October 6, puts the single costliest month, January, at $509. Both numbers are forecasts of an average household, built on expected prices and weather, so…
-
Six home insurers have until October 16 to answer Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley’s questions about claims closed without payment
Six of the country’s biggest home insurers have been asked to explain how often they close claims without paying. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley sent each company a letter dated October 2, 2026, and asked for answers by October 16. The letters ask questions. Nothing has been found against any of the six, no…
-
Washington’s attorney general is fighting a Bonneville Power plan that could raise electric rates for Avista, PacifiCorp and Puget Sound Energy customers
Washington’s attorney general is opposing, in a court filing, a federal power agency’s plan to change a formula that helps hold down electric bills for customers of three big utilities. Attorney General Nick Brown’s office said on Sept. 29 that it filed an amicus brief opposing a Bonneville Power Administration plan that could raise rates…
-
Nature’s Own Hawaiian Bread buyers in five states can get full refunds
Anyone who bought Nature’s Own Hawaiian Bread in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma or Texas can take it back for a full refund. Flowers Foods, the baker, recalled the bread on Oct. 2 because some packages do not list milk as an ingredient. The FDA posted the company’s recall notice on Oct. 5. The two…
-
Vermont Gas Systems says a typical home’s yearly gas bill would fall about $21.73 to $1,726.67 on bills from Nov. 1, if regulators approve its proposed cut
Vermont Gas Systems says a typical residential customer’s yearly gas bill would drop about $21.73, to $1,726.67, on bills rendered on or after Nov. 1, 2026. The figure rests on two cuts that the Vermont Public Utility Commission has not yet approved. The company laid out the numbers in a Sept. 1 customer notice, and…
-
Louisiana state employees and retirees face higher health premiums on Jan. 1 across every Pelican and Magnolia plan, with enrollment open until Nov. 15
Health premiums for Louisiana state workers and retirees go up on Jan. 1, and the window to change plans closes first. The Office of Group Benefits, the agency that runs the state’s health plans, says all Pelican and Magnolia health plans carry a 7.75% premium rate increase effective Jan. 1, 2027. Annual enrollment runs from…