Sarah Hurtubise, 5:26 PM 01/27/2014

If young and healthy Americans never come around to the Obamacare exchanges, an insurance company bailout provision written into the healthcare law might prevent premiums from spiking — until after the midterm elections.

Nationally, just 24 percent of Obamacare exchange customers are between the ages of 18 and 35, while the Obama administration estimated the program would need at least 38 percent of enrollees in that group to remain financially viable. Just one exchange, Washington, D.C.’s, has beat the threshold, with young adults reportedly making up to 44 percent of enrollees.

Neil Munro, White House Correspondent, 11:48 AM 01/27/2014

The percentage of Americans with health insurance has dropped from 84 percent in 2009 to 83.8 percent in 2014, according to a report by Gallup issued the day before President Obama’s State of the Union speech.

The 0.2 point drop means that roughly 600,000 people have lost insurance amid the lousy economy that has prevailed during Obama’s tenure.

The number means that four years after the Democrats birthed the Obamacare network, the percentage of people without insurance is still below the level seen during President George. W. Bush’s second term.

By Russ Britt, January 27, 2014, 2:55 PM

Despite more than three dozen failed efforts to repeal Obamacare in the House, a trio of Republican Senators is going to give it at least one more try by forwarding their own alternative to the Affordable Care Act.

Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Richard Burr of North Carolina and Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, are pushing non-mandated health care coverage, but still would require insurers to offer coverage. The group’s proposal – dubbed the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment, or CARE, Act — would expand the maximum

By Cory Gunther; GottaBe Mobile ~ Jan 20, 2014

Today AT&T announced the company plans to offer up the new LG G Flex curved smartphone on January 24th, a week ahead of the rivals at Sprint. Last week we confirmed Sprint will have the G Flex for $299 starting January 31st, and now AT&T is up next, which means we should be hearing from T-Mobile shortly.

By Danielle Ofri, M.D. ; The New York Times ~ Jan 16, 2014

The first thing my new patient did when she walked into my office was breathe an enormous sigh of relief. “It was so hard to get this appointment with you,” she said. “It took weeks!” Danielle Ofri, M.D.Joon Park Danielle Ofri, M.D.

Unfortunately, my patient is not alone in her struggles. It is increasingly difficult for patients to find doctors and to get appointments with primary care physicians like
myself, and it is likely to get worse, not better, as millions more gain health
insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Jan 16, 2014

CHICAGO (Reuters) – This is the time of year when many of us take stock of our financial plans. New Year’s resolutions are in place, and tax season is just around the
corner.

But when it comes to retirement planning, the resolutions shouldn’t just revolve around how much you’ll sock away this year. It’s just as important to get a handle on how much
you’ll need to spend when you retire.

One common approach is to estimate the “replacement rate” – the percentage of household income you would need to maintain your current standard of living in retirement. And the rule of thumb is a replacement rate of 80 percent. The Internet is littered with
retirement calculators that let you plug in your expected final pre-retirement
income, and most use the 80 percent replacement rate to generate an income
target.

By Ben Goad; The Hill ~ Jan 15, 2014

The Obama administration is busy drafting more than 50 additional regulations required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new government report finds.

The Congressional Research Service identified some 43 proposed and final rules related to the landmark healthcare law that are now under construction at various agencies and are on track to be issued within the next 12 months.

By Alina Selyukh; Reuters ~ Jan 15, 2014

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T Inc CEO Randall Stephenson said on Wednesday he was anxious to hear details of President Barack Obama’s proposals to reform U.S.
surveillance programs, hoping for more clarity on the rules guiding the data collection operations.

Verizon Wireless and AT&T both claim victory after the release of a recent study. CNET breaks down who actually won. Or did they all?

By Roger Cheng; CNET ~ Jan 14, 2014

The wireless wars are heating up, so it’s no wonder the claims of network superiority are flying out fast and furiously.

The latest touch point comes from a study just released from wireless testing firm RootMetrics, which compiled its results after extensive testing in 125 markets during the
second half of 2013.

From Journal Reports; The Wall Street Journal ~ Jan 12, 2014

DRUG COSTS  If you’re trying to figure out how to reduce health-care expenses in later life, take a long, hard look at prescription drugs. A recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington calculates how much individuals and couples
will need to budget for health care in retirement based on three levels of possible drug expenditures: at the national median, the 75th percentile, and the 90th percentile.