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Learning to eat right: WIC celebrates 40 years of helping families
It’s hard to imagine an America today without Social Security or Medicare. Those programs are part of the nation’s safety net, offering security to senior citizens and to those in need. The same can be said about the Special Supplemental Nutrition…
Your Moment Of Financial Truth
Some damned smart minds have cracked the human genome. New science and technology discoveries are made daily. So with all our native intelligence it should be easy to make wise and appropriate money decisions, right? Not necessarily. Even the brilliant—the scientists, engineers,…
Don’t fall prey to medical identity theft
By now, most people know about the perils of identity theft, where someone steals your personal or financial account information and makes fraudulent charges or opens bogus accounts in your name. ..Read MoreLately, a not-so-new twist has been getting a…
Privatization won’t fix the VA
FIRST IT was Social Security, then Medicare and Medicaid, and then the public health care option under Obamacare. Now, in the wake of recent allegations that veterans hospitals put patients on secret wait lists, Republicans are calling for the privatization of…
Federal reports: Gathering dust, per Congress’s order
THE 113th Congress doesn’t lack for reading material. As The Washington Post recently reported, members can look forward to the annual report on the state of Little League baseball, the report detailing the Social Security Administration’s printing operations, and the report that…
Medicare rules can leave seniors with unexpected costs
Medicare rules requiring seniors admitted to a hospital to receive three days of treatment as an inpatient prior to paying for follow-up care in a nursing home has left many on the hook for thousands in medical bills.That’s because hospitals…
The retirement apocalypse that isn’t coming
Grandma’s much-anticipated Arctic cruise becomes a slow drift away on an ice floe. Grandpa mortgages his kidneys to pay for a new heart. Social Security is deader than disco and “IRA” only refers to guys named Ira. That bleak vision…
Getting Married Has Its Financial Benefits
Forget the marriage penalty. If getting hitched has any financial effect, it’s likely to be a bonus. In the 1990s, there was much discussion about how the tax code penalized married couples. But many of the issues were addressed in…
State’s Medicaid program now covers naturopaths
Amanda Lewis and her husband use a naturopathic doctor, covered by their private insurance, as their primary-care provider. But until this year, the Sultan woman had to pay $95 a visit for her young son because naturopaths in Washington weren’t…
Is Medicare an example of how government can run health care?
On April 9, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released billing and collection data for the year 2012, for every physician practicing in the United States. This treasure trove of information, while being imperfect by not showing payments…