DAILY UPDATE: IRS Tax Day April 15th Exceptions as American Savings Rate is Down along with Nike, Jeep, Medicare Part C and these States?

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HAPPY APRIL 15th 2024

Americans are saving less at their lowest pace in more than a year, and are apparently spending more than the growth of their incomes, according to an analysis by Wells Fargo that was shared with Newsweek.

In February, the personal savings rate hit 3.6 percent, “marking the lowest rate at which households saved in 14 months,” Wells Fargo economists noted in the Thursday report, adding that spending outpaced income growth for the month. The savings rate is higher than the below 3 percent level it fell to following the COVID-19 pandemic, but is nevertheless way down from the pre-pandemic rate of 6 percent.

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The deadline for most people to file a 2023 tax return with the IRS is fast approaching; returns are due by 11:59 p.m., in your time zone, on Monday, April 15th today, with some exceptions. Taxpayers in Massachusetts and Maine have until April 17th to file and pay taxes because of the Patriots’ Day and Emancipation Day holidays. There are also extensions in some areas impacted by extreme weather. Individuals and businesses impacted by the October 7th attack on Israel have also been given an extension, the IRS announced. There are extensions for certain active-duty military members and citizens living abroad.

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Nike announced plans to lay off around 1,600 employees, or about 2% of its global workforce, as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting strategy. CEO John Donahoe said performance has not been the best and took responsibility. Donahoe said, “This is a painful reality and not one that I take lightly.”

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Stellantis is the world’s fourth-largest automaker by sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, and Hyundai Motor Group. The company designs, manufactures, and sells automobiles bearing its 14 brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall. Their headquarters is located in Amsterdam, and they have over 300,000 employees in 130 countries.

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The Biden administration wants to make changes to private Medicare insurance plans that officials say will help seniors find plans that best suit their needs, promote access to behavioral health care and increase use of extra benefits such as fitness and dental plans. “We want to ensure that taxpayer dollars actually provide meaningful benefits to enrollees,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. If finalized, the proposed rules rolled out Monday could also give seniors faster access to some lower-cost drugs. Administration officials said the changes, which are subject to a 60-day comment period, build on recent steps taken to address what they called confusing or misleading advertisements for Medicare Advantage [Part C] plans. Just over half of those eligible for Medicare get coverage through a private insurance plan rather than traditional, government-run Medicare.

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Healthcare varies substantially by state based on dozens of factors. The same is valid for cities. Some of this is due to the availability of medical facilities. Some have to do with health habits. Some have to do with incomes and poverty levels. People who live in poor states, based on income, almost always have unhealthy populations. A new study from Renew Bariatrics shows the “Healthiest (and Unhealthiest) States in the US—2024 Rankings,” and reviews alcohol use, diabetes, drug overdoses, mental health, isolation, tobacco use, exercise, and the presence of heart disease, obesity, and cancer. These, taken together, create an index from 0 to 100, with 100 being the worst possible score. These are the most expensive states to live in.

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MEDICARE [dis] ADVANTAGE Plans?

By Staff Reporters

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Leading hospital trade groups are accusing some Medicare Advantage plans, including giant UnitedHealthcare, of flaunting coverage requirements recently codified by CMS. The American Hospital Association is now petitioning the Biden administration to crack down.


However … the Medicare Advantage market is booming but investment in cancer care continues to lag.

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MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS: Part C Plans Down AS Cigna Pays Up?

Hospitals are Dropping Medicare Advantage [Part C] Plans – Left and Right

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

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Hospitals Say Bye-Bye?

Medicare Advantage provides health coverage to more than half of the nation’s seniors, but a growing number of hospitals and health systems nationwide are pushing back and dropping the private plans altogether. Among the most commonly cited reasons are excessive prior authorization denial rates and slow payments from insurers. Some systems have noted that most MA carriers have faced allegations of billing fraud from the federal government and are being probed by lawmakers over their high denial rates.

“It’s become a game of delay, deny and not pay,” Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of San Diego-based Scripps Health, told Becker’s. “Providers are going to have to get out of full-risk capitation because it just doesn’t work — we’re the bottom of the food chain, and the food chain is not being fed.” Van Gorder said the health system is facing a loss of $75 million this year on the MA contracts, which will end December 31st for patients covered by UnitedHealthcare, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Centene’s Health Net and a few more smaller carriers.

Source: Becker’s Hospital Review [9/27/23]

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Cigna to Pay $172M Over Alleged Medicare Advantage Fraud

The Cigna Group will pay $172.3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting incorrect Medicare Advantage patient data to CMS to receive higher payments from the agency. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania alleged Sept. 30 that Cigna also falsely certified that the submitted data was accurate, failed to withdraw the “untruthful” data, and did not repay CMS.

Cigna will use $135.3 million from the settlement to resolve the allegations from the Justice Department. The remaining $37 million will resolve allegations related to unsupported diagnoses for Medicare Advantage enrollees that received in-home services from Cigna. As part of the settlement, Cigna has entered into a five-year accountability and auditing agreement with HHS’ Office of Inspector General, which will require company executives and board members to certify Cigna’s compliance moving forward. The payer must also conduct annual risk assessments and submit to independent risk adjustment audits.

Source: Jakob Emerson, Becker’s Payer Issues [10/2/23]

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