The financial news that actually matters
North Carolina restored Medicaid provider payments in December 2025 after courts blocked steep rate cuts, but the $319 million budget shortfall that triggered those reductions has not been resolved. As of spring 2026, the state’s roughly 3 million Medicaid enrollees and the rural hospitals that serve them face the same funding cliff, with no public…
For the first time in Medicare’s six-decade history, the standard Part B premium will top $200 a month. Beginning in January 2026, most of the more than 60 million Americans enrolled in Part B will pay $202.90 per month, a $17.90 jump from the current $185.00. The annual deductible climbs to $283, up $26 from…
Medicare scam calls were already a familiar nuisance for many older Americans. During the most recent open enrollment season, they became something more dangerous. Recent reporting citing Better Business Bureau complaint data found Medicare scam complaints running 40% higher than a year earlier, while federal officials were separately dealing with a confirmed Medicare.gov account incident…
Medicare beneficiaries will pay $202.90 per month for Part B coverage in 2026, up from $185 in 2025. The increase, announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, raises the standard premium by $17.90 a month, or about $215 over the course of a year before any doctor visits, outpatient procedures, or lab work…
Nearly 3 million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans were forced to find new coverage for 2026. That was after insurers pulled plans from markets around the country. This created one of the biggest disruptions the program has seen in years. The Medicare Advantage plan switch affected about 1 in 10 beneficiaries in non-employer HMO…
More than half of Medicare-eligible seniors in the United States now get their coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans, a milestone that says as much about the future of the program as it does about its current popularity. In 2025, enrollment reached 34.1 million people, or 54% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries, cementing Medicare Advantage as…
Medicare beneficiaries with high prescription drug bills got a major change in 2025: annual out-of-pocket costs for covered Part D drugs are now capped at $2,000. For people who rely on expensive cancer treatments, specialty medicines, or brand-name therapies for chronic conditions, that limit replaces the old system that could leave costs climbing long after…