Author: Matthew Cutler

States Desperate To Bring Healthcare Prices To Heel

Republican changes to the Affordable Care Act have driven up insurance prices for individuals. Now some states are acting on their own to halt a third year of sharp premium rises. The state healthcare exchanges – which serve people who don’t get insurance through an employer or a government program […]

Cell Phone Plan

5 Things to Watch for in March’s Inflation Report

The consumer price index is expected to show no increase in the report to be issued Wednesday by the Labor Department. But the more trend-worthy annual number is likely to increase from 2.1 to 2.3 percent and indicates that consumer prices around the economy are on a slow but upward […]

https://flic.kr/p/5vYUtP

The Costs Of Being Old Outpace Social Security

Maria Gamez’s monthly Social Security check went up one dollar this year. “Luckily, I haven’t gotten really sick,” she said, “if I have a headache I take a Tylenol, you know?” She relies on Social Security and a pension to fund her rent in Jamaica, Queens, buy a jacket for […]

https://flic.kr/p/8satzz

Increasing U.S. Oil Production Leads To Steadily Creeping Gas Prices

photo by Bernhard Benke, used under the CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license U.S. inflation continues its steady upward trend as the Fed gets ready to increase interest rates next week. The Labor Department reported Tuesday consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in February, matching expectations of creeping inflation pressures as the economy continues into […]

Gas Pump

Higher Than Expected Inflation Fueled By Volatile Gas

Gas Pump photo by Michael Kappel, used under the Creative Commons’ Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license. Higher gasoline and apparel prices pushed up inflation last month, but consumers aren’t likely to face rapidly increasing prices. The Labor Department reported Wednesday consumer prices rose 0.5% in January, spurred by a 5% increase in […]