The financial news that actually matters
A routine blood draw at an independent doctor’s office might cost a Medicare patient $20 in copays. The same blood draw, performed by the same type of technician in a clinic recently acquired by a hospital system, can run two to three times that amount, thanks to an added “facility fee” that the patient never…
For years, selling on Amazon meant accepting a growing list of fees as the cost of reaching the platform’s massive customer base. But since early 2024, when Amazon introduced an inbound placement fee and a low-inventory-level penalty on top of already-rising fulfillment and advertising charges, many merchants say the economics have tipped from tight to…
Paying $550 a year for a credit card used to feel like a stretch. That number is now a relic. Chase has raised the annual fee on its Sapphire Reserve to $795, and American Express has pushed the Platinum Card to $895. Together, the back-to-back increases represent the steepest hikes either card has ever carried,…
A gallon of milk in Baltimore could soon cost you more than it costs your neighbor, not because of a sale or a coupon, but because an algorithm decided you’d pay it. Maryland Governor Wes Moore wants to make sure that never happens. In April 2026, Moore announced legislation that would ban grocery retailers, including…
Starting April 26, 2026, every package shipped through the U.S. Postal Service will cost more. A new 8% fuel surcharge on Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select, and other parcel products will add roughly $1.24 to a five-pound Priority Mail box that previously ran about $15.50, and the markup scales with weight and distance….
Fifteen months after the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 12,000 structures across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, thousands of displaced homeowners are still waiting to rebuild. Many remain in temporary housing, caught between mortgage payments on homes that no longer exist and a reconstruction process slowed by permit backlogs, contractor shortages, and insurance…