DAILY UPDATE: UnitedHealthcare Settlement, CFPB and Pharmaceutical Company Checks

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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UnitedHealthcare has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement in response to a class action lawsuit accusing the company of making unauthorized telemarketing calls. More than 12,000 individuals may be entitled to compensation, with payouts ranging from $350 to $1,000 per person, depending on how many claims are filed.

The lawsuit, filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), alleges that UnitedHealthcare placed calls to individuals without their consent between January 9, 2015, and January 9th, 2019. If you received these calls, you could be eligible for a cash settlement—but you must act before April 15th, 2025.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/2h47urt5

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has fired the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, in the latest purge of a Biden administration holdover. Chopra was one of the more important regulators from the previous Democratic administration who was still on the job since Trump took office on Jan. 20th.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/tj8smmes

A 2020 STAT analysis found more than two-thirds of Congress receiving a check from pharmaceutical companies that year. More recent data from Open Secrets likewise confirms that a large majority of leaders serving in the U.S. Congress and Senate receive significant contributions from pharmaceutical or health products companies, averaging $45,000 and $47,000 for Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives, respectively — and $50,000 and $69,000 for Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

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MEDICAL DEBT: Remains a Household Strain

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Report underscores ongoing concerns about accuracy of collections data, particularly with respect to medical debt

By Staff Reporters

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According to Gabriella Cruz-Martinez, tens of millions of debt collections disappeared from Americans’ credit reports during the pandemic, a new government watchdog report found, but overdue medical bills remain a big strain on many households nationwide. The total number of debt collections on credit reports dropped by 33% from 261 million in 2018 to 175 million in 2022, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, while the share of consumers with a debt collection on their credit report shrunk by 20%.

Medical debt collections also dropped by 17.9% during that time, but still made up 57% of all collection accounts on credit reports, far more than other types of debt combined — including credit cards, utilities, and rent accounts. Despite the reduction in collections, the CFPB noted that the results underscore ongoing concerns that current medical billing and collection practices can lack transparency, often hurting the credit scores and financial health of those most vulnerable.

“Our analysis of credit reports provides yet another indicator that, due to a strong labor market and emergency programs during the pandemic, household financial distress reduced over the last two years,” Rohit Chopra, CFPB director said in a statement. “However, false and inaccurate medical debt on credit reports continues to drag on household financial health.”

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/0826102549

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ORDER: https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Health-Insurance-Managed-Care/dp/0826149944/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275315485&sr=1-4

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DAILY UPDATE: Father’s Day, Medical Debt and USAA

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

News 4 in San Antonio Texas organized a video call with several USAA members who lost funds due to fraud — and have been left with little to no recourse. Some of them also belong to the Facebook group, USAA Fraud and Victims, which has 2,900 members. A few USAA members even reported being asked by the institution to cover the negative balances on their accounts after their money was stolen.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

The race to a $3 trillion market cap seemed like it would always be between Apple and Microsoft. But over the last twelve months, Nvidia has come roaring to the front of the pack, neck and neck with the big tech incumbents. In the last two weeks alone it has replaced Apple in the #2 spot, only to be supplanted earlier this week when Apple’s AI plans propelled it back ahead. Now, it’s anybody’s race to the next big benchmark: a $4 trillion market cap.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/2h47urt5

In a move that could be good for patients but bad for hospitals, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday proposed regulation that would wipe medical debt from many consumers’ credit reports. The rule is meant to help the 15 million people in the US who creditors say still have a combined $49 billion of medical debt that negatively affects their credit scores, Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, said during a June 11 press briefing. About 100 million people in the US have some amount of medical debt, which totals roughly $220 billion, according to data from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. The proposed regulation comes after three credit-reporting conglomerates—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—removed paid-off medical debt and medical debts under $500 from credit reports in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

CITE: https://tinyurl.com/tj8smmes

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DAILY UPDATE: Citigroup, CBO, CFPB, Spiked Treasury Yields and the Mixed Stock Markets

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

MEDICAL EXECUTIVE-POST – TODAY’S NEWSLETTER BRIEFING

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Essays, Opinions and Curated News in Health Economics, Investing, Business, Management and Financial Planning for Physician Entrepreneurs and their Savvy Advisors and Consultants

“Serving Almost One Million Doctors, Financial Advisors and Medical Management Consultants Daily“

A Partner of the Institute of Medical Business Advisors , Inc.

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SPONSORED BY: Marcinko & Associates, Inc.

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Daily Update Provided By Staff Reporters Since 2007.
How May We Serve You?
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Stat: $78 million. That’s the fine levied against Citigroup for an accidental, “fat finger” trade that momentarily erased $322 billion in market value in the European stock markets. (Business Insider)

Quote: “The CFPB wants to make sure that these new competitive offerings are not gaining an advantage by sidestepping the rights and responsibilities enshrined under the law.”—Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on the CFPB’s decision to treat “buy now, pay later” apps as credit cards.

CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource

Here’s where the major benchmarks ended yesterday:

  • The S&P 500® index (SPX) rose 1.32 points (0.02%) to 5,306.04; the Dow Jones Industrial Average® ($DJI) lost 216.73 points (0.6%) to 38,852.86; the NASDAQ Composite gained 99.09 points (0.6%) to 17,019.88.
  • The 10-year Treasury note yield jumped almost 7 basis points to 4.54%.
  • The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX) rose 0.55 to 12.91.

Financial shares were among Tuesday’s weakest performers, reflecting ideas elevated interest rates could burden bank margins. The KBW Regional Bank Index (KRX) sank 1% to its lowest close since April 30. Biotechnology and health care sectors were also under pressure.

In other markets, WTI Crude Oil (/CL) futures jumped more than 3% and ended at a four-week high above $80 per barrel ahead of next weekend’s OPEC meeting, which is expected to end with no change to the cartel’s production levels.

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House Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said that site-neutral payment policy is the “most obvious” solution amid supportive testimonies from partisan think-tanks, the Congressional Budget Office and a practicing independent physician. 

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BUSTED: Bank of America as Inflation Cools?

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Staff Reporters

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BofA must refund $100 million to customers, pay $90 million in penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and $60 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, in a statement.

“These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust.”

Combined, it is one of the highest financial penalties in years against Bank of America, which has largely spent the last 15 years trying to clean up its reputation and market itself to the public as a bank focused on financial health and not on overdraft fee income and financial trickery.

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The latest reading ion core inflation indicates a notable cool-down in June but still exceeds the Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2%.

Data just released exceeded the expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who expected inflation to have fallen to 3.1% in June. Inflation rose a modest 0.2% on a monthly basis, accelerating from a 0.1% increase in May. Despite the encouraging report, core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy prices — rose 4.8%.

Food prices, meanwhile, continued to accelerate faster than overall inflation, rising 5.7% in June compared to a year ago. and, the price of flour rose about 12% in June compared to a year ago, roughly quadruple of the overall inflation rate; while the price of bakery products rose 9.5% over that period and the price of cookies rose nearly 9%.

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