MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS: Rates Substantially Increased for 2026

By Health Capital Consultants LLC

***

***

On April 7, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published their 2026 Rate Announcement for Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans.

For 2026, the payment rate to MA plans will increase 5.06%, the largest increase in the past ten years, and up significantly from the 2.2% rate increase proposed by the Biden Administration.

This Health Capital Topics article will review the Rate Announcement. (Read more…)

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Like and Refer

***

***

STOCKS: Bounce Back Like a House

By Staff Reporters

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

***

***

Much like a springy inflatable structure often resembling a four-sided building and used by children for jumping for sport and fun, stocks staged a much-needed bounce-house back week on hopes that the trade war would de-escalate, with the S&P 500 climbing for four straight days to close 4.6% higher.

Whether the rally continues this week may depend on the Magnificent Seven earnings on tap—each of those Big Tech stocks has fallen at least 6.5% this year, shedding a combined $2.5 trillion in market value, per the Wall Street Journal.

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Refer and Like

***

***

EARNINGS REPORTS: Out This Week

BREAKING NEWS

By Staff Reporters

***

***

This Week is Full of Data

On the economic side, things kick off on Tuesday with the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, and the job openings and labor turnover survey.

Then Wednesday brings the banga-bing, banga-boom: GDP, the ADP employment report, and of course, PCE.

On Thursday we get initial jobless claims and the ISM manufacturing index, followed by Friday’s US jobs report.

Company Earnings Reports

Monday: Domino’s Pizza, Waste Management, Nucor, and NXP Semiconductors

Tuesday: Visa, Coca-Cola, Novartis, AstraZeneca, HSBC, Pfizer, Honeywell, Spotify, Snap, American Tower, Altria, Starbucks, Mondelez International, Sherwin-Williams, UPS, BP, PayPal, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Universal Music Group, Hilton, Porsche, Adidas, GM, Corning, Kraft Heinz, JetBlue Airways, and Paccar

Wednesday: Microsoft, Meta, Samsung, Qualcomm, Caterpillar, Airbus, UBS, GSK, Barclays, Volkswagen, Robinhood, Humana, eBay, Norwegian Cruise Line, Albemarle, Wingstop, and Etsy

Thursday: Apple, Amazon, Eli Lilly, Mastercard, McDonald’s, Amgen, MicroStrategy, CVS Health, Airbnb, Dominion Energy, Roblox, Block, Hershey, Live Nation Entertainment, Kellanova, Estee Lauder, Reddit, Duolingo, Twilio, Juniper Networks, Moderna, United States Steel, Roku, Wayfair, and Harley-Davidson

Friday: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Eaton, Cigna Group, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, ING, and Wendy’s

COMMENTS APPRECIATED

Like and Refer

***

***