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Rite Aid Stockholders Approve Reverse Stock Split

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Rite Aid, a drug store chain, issued the following news release:. Rite Aid Corporation announced that its stockholders approved a reverse stock split of the company’s common stock at today’s Special Meeting of Stockholders. As previously announced, Rite Aid will regain compliance with the NYSE share price listing rule if at the last trading day of any month…

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Principal Financial is deep in talks to acquire the Wells Fargo retirement plan business in a deal estimated at about $1 billion, Reuters reports.

Starting a conversation about disability insurance may be easier than you think.

In a major policy shift, the American Council of Life Insurers will endorse a federal proposal requiring employers without retirement plans to provide workers with access to a payroll deduction for savings through an IRA, 401(k), or other qualified retirement savings plan. A bill to this effect is expected to be introduced in Congress this year.

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The state treasurer and the N.C. Healthcare Association can’ t reach consensus over how to pay for health insurance for state employees. The governor and some legislative leaders are advocating Medicaid expansion to cover an additional 600,000 people. The debate, proposals, and arguments have focused on the high cost of health care, who will pay, and ways to shift…

HUNTINGTON- An attorney representing a retired Huntington firefighter argued Wednesday the city of Huntington shouldn’t have changed his client’s health insurance benefits without an opportunity to renegotiate the terms. Retired Huntington firefighter Herschel Marshall, represented by attorney Bert Ketchum, went before Cabell County Circuit Court…

March 20– Mar. 20– WEYMOUTH– The town has $368 million in unfunded health care benefits for retired employees, but remains in a strong financial position despite that, an auditor said. Frank Byron, president of the auditing firm Melanson and Heath, and Erica Lussier, a governmental audit manager, went before town council Monday to report on the town’s finances for…
The newly named AIG Retirement Services looks to capitalize on the AIG name.

VALIC, a leading retirement plan provider for healthcare, K-12, higher education, government, religious, charitable and other not-for-profit organizations, will now be known as AIG Retirement Services. The name change will allow the company to “fully leverage the strength, scale and brand” of the AIG name, an executive said.

Prudential Retirement is a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc.. Scott Gaul, Senior Vice President, Prudential Retirement. “One of the reasons we selected Prudential was their commitment to dedicated on-site participant servicing and education, which includes retirement counselors that work with our employees to ensure they maximize their plan,”…

If you have higher income, the law requires an upward adjustment to your monthly Medicare Part B and Medicare prescription drug coverage premiums. If you’re a higher-income beneficiary, you’ll pay a larger percentage of the total cost of Medicare Part B, based on the income you report to the Internal Revenue Service. You’ll pay monthly Part B premiums equal to…
Women face greater challenges when it comes to retirement.

New research released today from Lincoln Financial Group reveals that while women place high importance on planning for retirement and their family’ s future, they are facing gaps that are keeping them from reaching the positive outcomes they seek.

March 19– Mar. 19– BOISE– People earning more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level would not be eligible for expanded Medicaid under a new sideboard bill introduced Monday. The House Health and Welfare Committee, which introduced the measure on a party line voice vote, will hold a public hearing on it Wednesday. It directs the Department of Health and…

–Routine annual personal financial reviews that many people are undertaking now in the year’s first quarter, oftentimes overlook a key financial need– long-term health care planning, according to Larry Rosenthal, a widely sought financial consultant and president of Rosenthal Wealth Management Group. LTHC expenditures in the U.S. were estimated to be about…

March 18– Mar. 18– The state of Ohio is appealing a judge’s decision to block a health care transparency law, which called for sweeping changes to health care billing but has never gone into effect. Jim Butler, R- Oakwood, who said it provided consumers necessary information, but was opposed by medical industry groups that called the law burdensome and unworkable.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave Ohio approval Friday to impose work requirements for those covered by Medicaid expansion. “I am pleased that Ohio is a model state that balances a pathway to employment and access to health care in our reasonable work requirements. “According to the State of Ohio’s own extensive, independently conducted…

Health care in America is again expected to be a deeply divisive issue in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, with Democrats pressing for more government involvement through the concept of “Medicare for All,” and Republicans warning of increased taxes and looming socialism. Health care advocates believe that growing public support for protecting and…

Lori Ferrante has a lot on her mind. She oversees Elizabeth Seton Residence, one of the highest-ranked nursing homes in the state, which historically has meant stable finances and a long wait list to get in. Some of the closed nursing homes, which accounted for more than 1,900 beds, were located in Brewster, Brockton and Framingham, among other places, according to…

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (KLOH’-buh-shar) is jabbing at fellow Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke for saying he was “just born to be in” in the White House race. Minnesotan tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “growing up in the ’70s, in the middle of the country, I don’t think many people thought a girl could be president. I wasn’t born to run. But I am running.” Asked whether she feels “born to do this,” she says: “Oh, that’s the Beto line.”

Employees are bringing stress and worry into the office each day along with their laptop, coffee and ID, according to a Colonial Life study of 1,505 full-time U.S. employees. And it’s costing U.S. employers billions of dollars each week. With 128.5 million full-time employees earning an average of $21 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that…

March 15– Mar. 15– HOLLY HILL– An 89- year-old woman is accused of bilking more than $253,000 from a long-time friend of hers who is suffering from dementia, police said. Authorities said Frances Graves, who is jailed on $500,000 bail, was assisted in her crimes by Sarah Sheldon, 38, who has been arrested more than 20 times during the last 18 years, according to jail…
The Genworth deal with China Oceanwide has been close for months. Will it get done?

With approvals from government regulators in China and Canada still outstanding, Genworth Financial has again delayed the closing of its planned acquisition by a China- based investment company. Genworth and China Oceanwide Holdings Group announced the latest extension of their merger agreement late Thursday.

When the Affordable Care Act launched, it reformed Medicare by incentivizing the reduction of patient readmission rates. This led hospitals to discharge more patients to skilled nursing facilities, which have been shown to reduce readmission rates. That might not be the best thing in the long run.

The need for people to save more for their retirement is well-known. While nearly all those employed by government entities get a pension, only a third of workers in the private sector do. Phil Murphy’s desk would turn retirement savings- already available to workers at all income levels- into a government program and includes an apparent deal breaker at the…
Nursing home care runs into the six figures annually in many areas of the United States.

Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget would shift $1.2 trillion in Medicaid spending over 10 years to block grants starting in 2021, while eliminating funding Obamacare’s expansion of the program in dozens of states. “Congress has already rejected attempts to block-grant Medicaid, so it’s deeply troubling to see this administration double down,” one congressman said.

WASHINGTON- As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised not to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Once in the White House, Trump reneged on his Medicaid promise, and now he’s being criticized for proposing steep Medicare payment cuts in his new budget. “He’s not cutting Medicare in this budget,” acting White House budget director Russell Vought told…
Should Americans be worrying about debt?

Today’s baby boomers are more financially prepared for death than life, according to the latest research from the Bankers Life Center for a Secure Retirement. Just 18 percent of boomers report that planning for retirement care is a high priority. 45 percent of boomers expect they will need long-term care at some point— but according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human.

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump promised not to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. In the White House, Trump went back on his promise not to cut Medicaid. Now he’s being criticized for steep Medicare payment cuts to hospitals in his new budget. The head of a major hospital association says in a blog that the impact on care for seniors would be “devastating.” The White House says it’s not cutting Medicare but making better use of taxpayers’ dollars.
Many seniors are worried about running out of money in retirement. Annuities are one option to prevent that from happening.
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In a major policy shift, the American Council of Life Insurers will endorse a federal proposal requiring employers without retirement plans to provide workers with access to a payroll deduction for savings through an IRA, 401(k), or other qualified retirement savings plan. A bill to this effect is expected to be introduced in Congress this year.

Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care Chairman Pat Toomey and Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley are pursuing stronger oversight and integrity of Medicaid payments, of which nearly ten percent have been improper in recent years. “To maintain public confidence in such a large commitment of national resources, it is essential to ensure these…

–Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. In February, these pensions experienced a $20 billion increase in funded status thanks to healthy investment gains and an increase in the benchmark corporate bond interest…
Democrats say health care should be less of a business and more of a right.

The Affordable Care Act would be replaced with grants that states could use to subsidize private insurance coverage, and Medicaid would be replaced with a block grant instead of the current open-ended federal commitment. Future federal spending increases would be tied to the rate of general inflation, which is lower than health care inflation.
Long-term care insurance is proving problematic for both insurers and consumers.

Treatment for a motorbike accident in Panama cost her $20. Emergency dental surgery that might cost $10,000 or more in the U.S. was $4,500 in Paris. “The health care in a lot of places around the world is very good, as good as in the United States,” says Peddicord, who divides her time between Paris and Panama.“ Some places, it is better.”.

Putnam County could soon offer a more substantial life insurance policy for law enforcement and emergency personnel. In just the past four months in Tennessee, two police officers and one paramedic have been killed in job-related incidents. A Sullivan County deputy was shot while doing a welfare check at a home in Blountville, a Chattanooga police officer was…

But then come the tradeoffs: Washington bureaucrats would decide what services are covered and how much doctors and hospitals would be paid. Everyone would be required to give up the coverage they have now- including 173 million American who get health insurance at work- and taxes would be much higher to finance $32 trillion in added government spending over…

Johnny Isakson, R- Georgia, issued the following news release:. U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R- Ga., today joined 19 other senators in introducing bipartisan legislation to repeal the punitive medical device tax, which was enacted as a part of President Obama’s healthcare law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

States are pulling in opposite directions on health care- blue states to more socialism and red states to empowering individuals. Washington should encourage these laboratories for public policy by unshackling state governments from the morass of regulations imposed by the Affordable Care Act and feeble federal antitrust enforcement that enables…
The price of prescription drugs is pushing up the cost of overall health care.

Judge Joseph Spero of the U.S. District Court of Northern California in the ruling issued Tuesday night sided with patients in a class-action lawsuit that was filed in 2014 against United Behavioral Health (UBH), a subsidiary of the Minnetonka-based health care giant.
Democrats say health care should be less of a business and more of a right.
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Lawmakers are proposing legislation to stabilize the Affordable Care Act insurance market, make coverage more affordable for consumers, and improve access to care by leveraging the bargaining power and administrative savings of public programs.
The Trump administration made the Affordable Care Act one of its biggest targets.

Democrats portrayed Allison Jones Rushing, nominated to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Chad Readler, nominated to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, as referendums on controversial Trump administration stances. Readler was the lead lawyer at the Justice Department in a case over whether the Affordable Care Act is still constitutional now that its individual mandate has been zeroed out.
Long-term care insurance is proving problematic for both insurers and consumers.

A new survey of consumers who purchased short-term health insurance policies finds that older enrollees are more likely than younger ones to consider short-term insurance as an affordable alternative to Affordable Care Act plans.

John Bucy, D- Austin, who has filed House Joint Resolution 46 to allow people to vote on Medicaid expansion, said there’s no reason Texas shouldn’t be the next state. Supporters of Medicaid expansion were bolstered by the results of a poll over the summer that showed 64 percent of Texas voters said they supported it. Texas is one of 14 states that has not expanded…
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March 04– Mar. 4– SAN FRANCISCO– The California Supreme Court made it clear Monday that state and local governments may reduce pension costs by repealing certain benefits without running afoul of constitutional protections for public pensions. In a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Tani-Cantil Sakauye, the court upheld California’s 2012 repeal…
Democrats say health care should be less of a business and more of a right.

A coalition of insurers, medical care providers and drug companies has formed to oppose “Medicare for All,” The New York Times reported last week. The new narrative by the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future is that the Affordable Care Act has some flaws that need fixing.

The notion that health care outside the U.S. could be good as well as cheap is a foreign one to many Americans. Actual expats like her, however, tell of good-quality care at a fraction of the U.S. price. Emergency dental surgery that might cost $10,000 or more in the U.S. was $4,500 in Paris.

Feb. 28– Feb. 28– Internal Revenue Service data paints an unsettling picture of the uninsured in California, revealing that three out of four people who paid the tax penalty earned less than $50,000. A Sacramento Bee analysis of tax data showed that in 2016 more than 598,000 people paid a penalty to the federal government. In California for the year 2015, that would…

Feb. 28– Feb. 28– Lawmakers hope they can push down the cost of health insurance in Pueblo by as much as 25 percent for individual buyers by establishing a Colorado reinsurance program to pay for most costly hospital cases. When Polis was in Pueblo several weeks ago for a town hall meeting on health care, he called the reinsurance plan one important way to attack the…

Mark Warner, D- Virginia, issued the following news release:. “It’s crazy that for so many years, Virginia taxpayers were footing the bill for states that had already expanded Medicaid. Today, Medicaid expansion is bringing billions of tax dollars back home to Virginia, and more than 400,000 Virginians have gained access to quality, low-cost or no-cost Medicaid…
Democrats are struggling to counter the charge that they want the government to run health care.

While it has no chance of becoming law this Congress, the bill suggests a wide swath of the House Democratic majority is willing to back the most ambitious of plans to fill gaps left by Obamacare. Nearly 30 million Americans are still uninsured, though Democrats seeking to build on mid-term electoral gains or retake the White House next year are split on how far they should go in extending taxpayer-funded options.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., is introducing a Medicare For All bill that would create a government-funded, single-payer health-care system to cover every person in the United States.
The price of prescription drugs is pushing up the cost of overall health care.

Many California Democrats say they support single-payer health care, but none introduced a new version of the state’s landmark single-payer bill before a key deadline. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed other ways to increase health care coverage, such as expanding eligibility for the state’s health care coverage to young adults living in the state illegally.

–An analysis of the impact of the Affordable Care Act by economist Robert Genetski— creator of the blog, Classical Principles and author of the recent book, ” Rich Nation, Poor Nation”— shows the legislation produced an extraordinary increase in health insurance costs for individuals and families. Genetski’s analysis shows how, prior to Obamacare, health…
The Trump administration made the Affordable Care Act one of its biggest targets.
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A Partnership for America’s Health Care Future spokeswoman calls single-payer health care a one-size-fits-all system that would give consumers less choice and control over their doctors, treatments and coverage. It would mean higher taxes, long wait times and lower quality of care.
Democrats are struggling to counter the charge that they want the government to run health care.

Consumers covered under single-payer plans frequently experience long wait times to access care. In addition, the governments of most single-payer countries are heavily involved in setting the price of care, especially prescription drugs.
Who will occupy the White House in 2021? The upcoming election is sure to hinge on the economy, pundits agree.

Polls show that an estimated 35 percent of voters “will vote for Trump no matter what,” Charlie Cook said, 45 percent “will never vote for him in a million years” and 20 percent are in the middle. The votes of that 20 percent group are up for grabs in 2020 but Trump is not going after this group.

Feb. 25– How much does healthcare cost a small business and their employees? A typical employee’ s individual policy ran almost $7,000 annually in 2018 and the average family premium exceeded $19,000 according to a year-end report from the Kaiser Foundation, a non-profit organization focusing on national health issues. These costs represent an increase of up…

Lower health care costs are among the reasons some people retire abroad – and the quality of care can be as good as what’s available at home. If cheaper health care is your goal, here are some things to consider.

As America Saves Week kicks off Feb. 25, Prudential Financial, Inc. is calling on employers to consider adding an after-tax emergency savings feature to their 401 plans to help workers save for unexpected expenses. “One missed paycheck, or even an unexpected car repair, can create real financial hardship for Americans.”- Phil Waldeck, Prudential Retirement.

According to the Tax Foundation, the medical device tax lowered healthcare research and development spending by $34 million in 2013 alone and was responsible for the loss of approximately 21,800 jobs from 2013 to 2015. The Tax Foundation also notes that the levy on medical devices did not generate the revenue it was intended to, as the estimated sales of…