By Sarah Reedy; Light Reading ~ May 01, 2014

AT&T is reportedly gearing up to launch voice over LTE (VoLTE) by the end of the month, beating LTE first mover Verizon Wireless to the punch.

Sources tell Engadget that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) will launch VoLTE, the 4G voice service, in Chicago and Minneapolis on May 23. (See VoLTE: So Close You Can Hear It.)

There have been a number of delays and false starts for VoLTE as the operators have worked to make sure it will be on par with 3G voice, but all the big four are planning service this year. AT&T has said that its VoLTE will include high-definition voice at launch, but it hasn’t confirmed whether features like video and group chat will be enabled over the IP network. (See WhatsApp Threatens Carrier VoLTE, Verizon VoLTE Testing Spotted, AT&T Amplifies Its 4G Voice, and Sprint Taps BroadSoft for VoLTE Transition.)

By Dan Jones; Light Reading ~ May 01, 2014

AT&T is exploring the prospects of buying the satellite TV provider DirecTV in a deal that could be worth $40 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ cites a source familiar with the situation who says that DirecTV is “open” to the possibility of deal, though it is unclear whether talks are under way.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) would be stepping right on Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH)’s toes if it managed to snap up DirecTV. Successive Dish CEOs have said that a Dish-DirecTV merger is possible. (See Dish CEO: DirecTV Merger Possible.)

By Ferdous Al-Faruque & Elise Viebeck; The Hill ~ Apr 30, 2014

Lawmakers Wednesday tore into the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) newly appointed director of the Center for Program Integrity for reports of massive Medicare fraud.

House Ways and Means Health subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tx.) told Shantanu Agrawal that the agency needs to be more proactive after the Office of Inspector General reported that Medicare fraud costs taxpayers over $50 billion.

“I’m mostly concerned about CMS’ lack of leadership and interest,” Brady said.

By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Apr 29, 2014

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A physical therapist visits Robert Klaiber, 78, weekly to provide a special type of massage that helps alleviate his symptoms from Parkinson’s disease. Klaiber’s wife, Diane, was under the impression Medicare wouldn’t cover the therapy, which costs $500 or more a month. But earlier this month a neighbor noticed an announcement in a retirement newsletter.

“He showed me this item talking about an important change in the Medicare rules,” she says. “I didn’t know anything about it.”

Klaiber had tripped across important information about the settlement of a class action that should make Robert’s therapy eligible for Medicare coverage. Under the 2012 settlement of Jimmo v. Sebelius, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to relax Medicare’s requirements for coverage of skilled nursing and therapy services in institutional or home care settings.

By Alex Wayne; Bloomberg Businessweek ~ Apr 29, 2014

The U.S. Medicare program said it would increase payments to nonprofit community health clinics by as much as $1.3 billion over the next five years under a new reimbursement system ordered by Obamacare.

About 3,830 of the clinics stand to benefit from the change, which may raise their payments from Medicare by about a third, according to a rule published today by the government. The clinics serve mostly low-income patients in communities with few other options for health care and are supported by about $3.6 billion in federal grants.

Elderly and disabled Medicare patients — who generally can go to any doctor they choose — were the fastest growing segment of the clinics’ business in 2008, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, even though they comprise less than 10 percent of patients nationally. The association lobbied the government for increased Medicare reimbursement, arguing the clinics lost at least $51 million a year because of limits on their payments from the program.

By Dunstan Prial; Fox Business ~ Apr 28, 2014

AT&T (T) said Monday it will launch a high-speed 4G LTE-based Wi-Fi network for airline passengers that could be available by late 2015.

The service, according to a statement released by the wireless telecom company, will be capable of providing in-flight broadband for customers designed to improve speed and reliability for airline passengers.

“With AT&T’s planned new network, passengers would gain the reliability they have long hoped for in the sky — for browsing the Internet, checking email, keeping in touch with friends and family through social networking and messaging services, and increasing business productivity,” the company said in a statement released after the close of U.S. markets.

By Glenn Ruffenach; MarketWatch ~ Apr 28, 2014

Worried about your adult children blowing through their inheritance? Two strategies can help holders of individual retirement accounts curb an heir’s impulse to “cash out.”

The average IRA balance among individuals age 70 and older is just over $144,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C. An individual who inherits an IRA can stretch required annual withdrawals over his or her lifetime. But acquiring a six-figure account might tempt heirs – especially those in their 20s or 30s – to draw down the entire amount, resulting in a big tax bill.

As Carolyn Geer reports in The Wall Street Journal Sunday, IRA holders have two ways to “stall” adult children or other heirs from doing an immediate cash-out of the IRA when the surviving spouse dies.

By Kristen Gerencher; The Wall Street Journal ~ Apr 26, 2014

It can happen after a job loss, caring for a sick loved one or amid routine confusion over who owes what. A medical bill goes unpaid and ends up in collections, staining your credit for years—even if you pay or settle the debt.

When a bill is beyond past due, some health-care providers sell it to debt collectors, who take a percentage of what they recover. That’s typically when the credit-reporting companies have information to act on.

Medical debt is treated the same as any consumer debt when calculating your credit score. A debt of more than $100 referred for collection can lower an otherwise unblemished credit profile by more than 80 points, says Frederic Huynh, senior principal scientist for FICO in San Rafael, Calif. Lenders, employers and landlords use credit information to assess risk and price a wide variety of loans and insurance products. Collections can stay on consumers’ credit reports for up to seven years.

By Carol Morello & Scott Clement; The Washington Post ~ Apr 26, 2014

On a routine drive to the beauty salon, Robin Johnson had one of those life-happens moments: Her 13-year-old Durango, with 200,000 miles on the odometer, overheated and started sputtering. Convinced that the car was on its last legs, Robin and Scott Johnson scrutinized their already-tight family budget, looking for a way to fit in car payments.

The couple from Culpeper, Va., were already masters at scrimping.

At Christmastime, Robin unexpectedly needed prescription eyeglasses, so gifts came from a discount store. The couple spent the day before Thanksgiving price-checking turkeys at three stores.

By Carol Wilson; Light Reading ~ Apr 25, 2014

AT&T’s support for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is once again under scrutiny, this time by a group that wants AT&T shareholders to vote in favor of a requirement that the company publicly disclose the amount of money it is spending to lobby at the state level, and in its support of lobbying groups such as ALEC.

The effort is being presented by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) shareholders AFSCME, Zevin Asset Management and Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate at today’s Annual Meeting. As part of the AT&T proxy statement, the group is asking shareholders to support requirements that AT&T’s board disclose its lobbying policies and expenditures.