Hundreds of thousands of seniors may be about to get a bill for up to five months' premiums, which they didn't realize weren't paid, due to a Social Security Administration mistake, Kaiser Health News reports.
What's happening: The SSA made an error and didn't deduct the premiums from seniors' Social Security checks, and didn't pay seniors' insurance plans. About 250,000 seniors with private plans are affected. Some will be required to pay, while others may receive cancellation notices.
Rising deductibles paired with the rising cost of medications for chronic conditions has left middle-income Americans saddled with debt and skipping out on their treatment, the L.A. Times reports.
Why it matters: Care for conditions like cancer, diabetes and epilepsy— which require regular treatment, including drugs— are costing the insured thousands of dollars a year, a major shift from when deductibles were lower or nonexistent.
The World Health Organization said Thursday there should be cautious hope at signs the numbers of confirmed Ebola cases and the geographical footprint have lessened over the past couple weeks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The other side: This is in sharp contrast to what other experts and organizations have been saying, with the head of the Centers for Disease Control warning at a hearing that he anticipates the deadly virus will spread outside the DRC and multiple international health officials calling for a "reset."
