Category: Cost of Living
-
HUD runs a free lookup for unclaimed FHA mortgage-insurance refunds
Millions of dollars in mortgage-insurance refunds from old Federal Housing Administration loans have never reached the people they belong to, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) runs a search page that costs nothing to use. Anyone who ever had an FHA-insured mortgage can type in a last name or a case number…
-
The FDA lets salt substitutes into about 139 standardized foods from December 14, with objections to the dairy standards due November 12
The Food and Drug Administration has finalized a rule that lets food makers swap part of the salt in many everyday products for a salt substitute. The change covers 139 foods that have a federal “standard of identity,” and it starts December 14, 2026. For shoppers, it could mean more bread, cheese, canned vegetables and…
-
New Hampshire restricts electric shutoffs from November 15 to March 31 and requires regulator approval to disconnect a customer 65 or older in winter
New Hampshire’s winter shutoff protections start again on November 15, 2026 and run through March 31, 2027. During that stretch an electric utility is limited in when it can cut off a household, and the state’s Public Utilities Commission has to approve any shutoff of a customer who is 65 or older. The protections are…
-
Detroit homeowners have until 4:30 p.m. on November 6 to file for the poverty property-tax exemption, and households living only on fixed benefits such as SSI do not have to reapply every year
Detroit homeowners who want to be excused from this year’s property taxes have until 4:30 p.m. on November 6, 2026, to file for the city’s poverty exemption, known as HOPE. Households that live only on fixed benefits such as Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, do not have to reapply every year. Everyone else has to…
-
Health plans must give pricing information by telephone for plan years starting January 1, 2027, and may cut a caller off at no fewer than 20 providers a day
Health plans will have to answer price questions by telephone, not just on a website, once a new federal rule takes hold. The rule applies to plan years that begin on or after January 1, 2027. A plan may also stop quoting a caller after no fewer than 20 providers in a day. The Departments…
-
Rhode Island’s winter heating aid applications are open, with crisis grants for shutoffs
Rhode Island households that struggle with winter heating bills can now apply for the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP. The program also offers crisis grants for homes facing a heat shutoff. The Rhode Island Department of Human Services says the application period for federal fiscal year 2027 opened October 1,…
-
OG&E wants Oklahoma regulators to approve a rate increase that would add $23.88 a month to the average home bill
OG&E has asked the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for a rate increase that would raise the average residential bill by $23.88 a month if approved. The electric utility filed the request on September 30, 2026. Rates are not changing now, and new rates would not take effect until about six months after the process starts at…
-
Workers who lose a job can usually keep their employer’s health plan for up to 18 months under COBRA, at up to 102 percent of the cost
People who lose a job at a company with 20 or more employees can usually stay on the employer’s health plan for up to 18 months under a federal law called COBRA. The catch is the price. The plan can charge up to 102 percent of its cost, which means the worker pays the share…
-
The Trump administration announced $78 million in rural health money for 216 Texas providers
The Trump administration announced $78 million on Oct. 15, 2026 for 216 rural health care providers in Texas. The money is meant to help those providers hire and keep workers, fight chronic disease and replace aging equipment. It is a grant to clinics, hospitals and emergency services, not a payment to patients. The Centers for…
-
Commerce issued preliminary anti-dumping findings on Italian pasta from La Molisana and Garofalo
The Commerce Department has issued preliminary anti-dumping findings on Italian pasta, with proposed rates of 3.62 percent for La Molisana and 6.47 percent for Garofalo. The numbers are not final, and the notice that announced them says nothing about what pasta costs on a grocery shelf. The International Trade Administration published the preliminary results in…