Latest news with #McGough
USA Today
18-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Health insurance costs are about to spike again: What to expect in 2026.
Consumers who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace will likely face double-digit rate hikes next year. Insurers plan a median premium increase of 15% for 2026 plans, which would be the largest ACA insurance price hike since 2018, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis published July 18. And many working-age consumers who get their health insurance through the workplace won't be spared, either. Benefits consultant Mercer said more than half of big employers expect to shift a larger share of insurance costs to employees and their families next year by raising deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket requirements. KFF said the ACA insurers cited factors such as medical cost inflation, the expiration of tax credits instituted during former President Joe Biden's administration that made plans cheaper, and tariffs on prescription drugs and medical device imports. Still unknown is how President Donald Trump's and Congressional Republicans' tax cut and spending law might impact next year's ACA health insurance rates, experts said. Trump's tax cut law has "created a lot of uncertainty," said Matt McGough, a policy analyst for KFF's program on the ACA. "Insurers weren't sure how to handle it." Millions of nondisabled adults are projected to lose Medicaid coverage due to the law's work-or-volunteer requirement, but the law also will impact some who buy ACA plans. Trump's law and a federal rule will end a special sign-up period for people who earned less than 150% of the federal poverty level − a group that had significant enrollment gains in recent years. The enrollment perk allowed low-income Americans to sign up for coverage year-round, making it easier for families to sign up, McGough said. The law also ends automatic ACA enrollment renewals for consumers, who will be required to update income and other information annually. Trump administration officials have said the Biden administration's enrollment policies for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act allowed fraud and abuse. In a July 17 news release, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it discovered 2.8 million Americans were potentially enrolled in Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program plans in multiple states, or they were simultaneously enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP plans and subsidized ACA plans. The agency said it initiated steps to ensure people weren't simultaneously enrolled in multiple, taxpayer-subsidized insurance plans. In a statement, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said the Trump administration "will no longer tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse at the expense of our most vulnerable citizens." Higher health costs, end of COVID-era tax credits Higher health care spending is the top factor driving health insurance premiums higher - accounting for roughly half of the expected insurance price hikes, McGough said. Another significant factor is Biden's COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits, which made ACA plans cheaper for consumers and drove record high enrollment, will expire at the end of the year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated about 5 million could lose health insurance after the tax credits expire. KFF said the expiring tax credits will increase ACA consumers' out-of-pocket premium payments more than 75% on average. Healthier enrollees will likely choose to drop their coverage, leaving insurance plans with groups of sicker patients who require more health care, McGough said. KFF's review of 105 ACA insurers in 19 states and Washington D.C. found most are seeking rate hikes of 10% to 20% for coverage next year. Another 28 insurers will seek rate hikes of 28% or more. State and federal insurance regulators must sign off on proposed rate hikes before they are finalized this fall. Most working-age Americans get health insurance through their or a spouse's employer. These large employers will be more willing to pass along a larger share of health insurance costs to workers and their families next year, a July 16 report from benefits consultant Mercer found. Mercer said 51% of large employers say they are likely or very likely to shifts cost to workers through higher deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. A year ago, 45% of employers were willing to make their workers absorb a higher share of the health bill. Employers health benefits costs are expected to rise 6% in 2025 and could rise even faster in 2026. To curb those cost increases, employers are adjusting insurance plan options for workers and their families, said Beth Umland, Mercer's director of research for health and benefits. Earlier this decade, employers were reluctant to shift significant health costs to workers due to the tight labor market. But with health costs rising faster than inflation, more companies are willing to do so, Umland said. Companies also are increasingly offering plans that encourage workers to get care from narrower networks of doctors and hospitals who have negotiated discounts with the insurance plan, Umland said.
The Age
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
Super fund on the move as supply of top-tier office space dries up
Ernst & Young, meanwhile, is taking 20,000 sq m of refurbished space at Charter Hall's and Brookfield's 111 Bourke Street. Potential tenants still scouring the market include: the Australian Tax Office (22,000 sq m); NAB (25,000-40,000 sq m); Ausnet (20,000 sq m); Myer is after 12,000-160,000 sq m; and law firm Maddocks is looking for up to 10,000 sq m. New office development in the CBD slowed after the pandemic as bloated vacancy levels and falling capital values hampered developers, according to Knight Frank's head of research Tony McGough. 'After the GFC, Melbourne's CBD experienced a substantial wave of new office supply, driven by historically low vacancy rates and robust economic growth. However, with increasing global uncertainty and a recovering local economy, development conditions are now brittle,' McGough said. 'The forecast pipeline has contracted significantly, with only three new office buildings larger than 25,000 sq m currently expected to complete before the end of 2029,' he said. Town Hall Place One building, announced in 2023, is Lendlease's Town Hall Place which will wrap around the city's iconic centrally located pub, Young and Jackson. With all the groundwork done, construction is expected to start soon and complete in early 2027. Real estate agency CBRE and its services subsidiary, Turner & Townsend, are taking 5000 sq m of the building on levels five, six and seven. The top floor of the eight-storey building is available, as well as the lower levels. 'It's a game changer. It's not your traditional office location and this will change how people view the area,' CBRE agent Ashley Buller said. Workers will be able to enter the new L-shaped office from the new underground Town Hall railway station and Flinders Street station through a network of tunnels and corridors. Legal digs Rather than leasing offices, some tenants are prepared to buy their own space. An undisclosed owner-occupier – presumably a law firm – has bought Douglas Menzies Chambers, for $23 million. Its vendor, Barristers Chambers, offloaded the 52-year-old building at 180 William Street after buying 200 Queen Street last year. Barristers Chambers is consolidating its property holdings into the 34-level 19,736 sq m building on the corner of Little Bourke Street. Overlooking the Supreme Court, 180 William Street is comparatively small, with 12 storeys covering 3401 sq m of space, also on the corner of Little Bourke Street. Its sales history provides a guide to the recent peaks and troughs of the CBD office market. It last traded in 1992, during the depths of the recession, for $6 million. Five years earlier, just before the 1987 stock market crash, it had fetched $8.15 million. The deal was done by Colliers agents Matt Stagg, Nick Garoni and Yvonne Zhou and attracted seven offers. Lower property values and the promise of lower interest rates have more than tripled the number of owner-occupiers buying in the current market. 'The long-term national average for commercial owner-occupier acquisitions is 4 per cent, compared to a high of 15 per cent for the year ending 2024,' Stagg said. Retail leases It's not just offices. A spate of new retail leases has been signed recently. UK fragrance retailer Creed Perfume is moving into shop 27 of the Royal Arcade in a five-year lease struck at $3500 a sq m in a deal handled by Fitzroys' Franklin Gikas and James Lockwood. Creed, which started in London in 1760, already has a shop in Sydney's Strand Arcade and likes its locations historic and picturesque. 'The Melbourne CBD has always been the beating heart of Australian retail. Its laneways, cafes and restaurants give it a European flair and offer more than just major malls and international chains,' Dan McCormack, the national retail manager of Creed's local operator Agence de Parfum, said. In other moves, cult gumboot brand Merry People is opening its first bricks-and-mortar shop after 10 years trading online, taking shop 2 of 11 Manchester Lane. And Korean pop culture and fashion brand I Heart Kpop is making its first foray into the Melbourne market, signing a three-year lease on shop 6 of 271 Collins Street. Paramount Liquor is also opening its first Melbourne bottle shop, Bottlestop, at 360 Bourke Street, on the corner of Elizabeth Street. Loading The move comes as the southern side of the Bourke Street Mall is poised to unveil new shops and hotels, including a JD Sports flagship store and the new Mecca and Rodd & Gunn flagships. 'Tenants are recognising that there is currently an excellent opportunity to establish a presence in the CBD in quality positions and on competitive leasing rates, with a number of businesses looking to lock in long-term deals,' Lockwood said. Fitzroys' latest report, Walk the CBD, shows retail vacancies in the CBD have fallen to 6.1 per cent, down from 8 per cent a year ago and 14.1 per cent in 2023. Gikas and Lockwood have also leased a 148 sq m corner hospitality space, near GPT's Space & Co co-working lounge and event space, at 181 William Street to premium Japanese cafe Attakai, on a seven-year term. The return to hospitality has been strong in the past year, with the proportion of bars, cafes and restaurants increasing to 47.4 per cent of the city's footprint – up from 40.9 per cent last year and just 34.1 per cent in 2023.
Sydney Morning Herald
12-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Super fund on the move as supply of top-tier office space dries up
Ernst & Young, meanwhile, is taking 20,000 sq m of refurbished space at Charter Hall's and Brookfield's 111 Bourke Street. Potential tenants still scouring the market include: the Australian Tax Office (22,000 sq m); NAB (25,000-40,000 sq m); Ausnet (20,000 sq m); Myer is after 12,000-160,000 sq m; and law firm Maddocks is looking for up to 10,000 sq m. New office development in the CBD slowed after the pandemic as bloated vacancy levels and falling capital values hampered developers, according to Knight Frank's head of research Tony McGough. 'After the GFC, Melbourne's CBD experienced a substantial wave of new office supply, driven by historically low vacancy rates and robust economic growth. However, with increasing global uncertainty and a recovering local economy, development conditions are now brittle,' McGough said. 'The forecast pipeline has contracted significantly, with only three new office buildings larger than 25,000 sq m currently expected to complete before the end of 2029,' he said. Town Hall Place One building, announced in 2023, is Lendlease's Town Hall Place which will wrap around the city's iconic centrally located pub, Young and Jackson. With all the groundwork done, construction is expected to start soon and complete in early 2027. Real estate agency CBRE and its services subsidiary, Turner & Townsend, are taking 5000 sq m of the building on levels five, six and seven. The top floor of the eight-storey building is available, as well as the lower levels. 'It's a game changer. It's not your traditional office location and this will change how people view the area,' CBRE agent Ashley Buller said. Workers will be able to enter the new L-shaped office from the new underground Town Hall railway station and Flinders Street station through a network of tunnels and corridors. Legal digs Rather than leasing offices, some tenants are prepared to buy their own space. An undisclosed owner-occupier – presumably a law firm – has bought Douglas Menzies Chambers, for $23 million. Its vendor, Barristers Chambers, offloaded the 52-year-old building at 180 William Street after buying 200 Queen Street last year. Barristers Chambers is consolidating its property holdings into the 34-level 19,736 sq m building on the corner of Little Bourke Street. Overlooking the Supreme Court, 180 William Street is comparatively small, with 12 storeys covering 3401 sq m of space, also on the corner of Little Bourke Street. Its sales history provides a guide to the recent peaks and troughs of the CBD office market. It last traded in 1992, during the depths of the recession, for $6 million. Five years earlier, just before the 1987 stock market crash, it had fetched $8.15 million. The deal was done by Colliers agents Matt Stagg, Nick Garoni and Yvonne Zhou and attracted seven offers. Lower property values and the promise of lower interest rates have more than tripled the number of owner-occupiers buying in the current market. 'The long-term national average for commercial owner-occupier acquisitions is 4 per cent, compared to a high of 15 per cent for the year ending 2024,' Stagg said. Retail leases It's not just offices. A spate of new retail leases has been signed recently. UK fragrance retailer Creed Perfume is moving into shop 27 of the Royal Arcade in a five-year lease struck at $3500 a sq m in a deal handled by Fitzroys' Franklin Gikas and James Lockwood. Creed, which started in London in 1760, already has a shop in Sydney's Strand Arcade and likes its locations historic and picturesque. 'The Melbourne CBD has always been the beating heart of Australian retail. Its laneways, cafes and restaurants give it a European flair and offer more than just major malls and international chains,' Dan McCormack, the national retail manager of Creed's local operator Agence de Parfum, said. In other moves, cult gumboot brand Merry People is opening its first bricks-and-mortar shop after 10 years trading online, taking shop 2 of 11 Manchester Lane. And Korean pop culture and fashion brand I Heart Kpop is making its first foray into the Melbourne market, signing a three-year lease on shop 6 of 271 Collins Street. Paramount Liquor is also opening its first Melbourne bottle shop, Bottlestop, at 360 Bourke Street, on the corner of Elizabeth Street. Loading The move comes as the southern side of the Bourke Street Mall is poised to unveil new shops and hotels, including a JD Sports flagship store and the new Mecca and Rodd & Gunn flagships. 'Tenants are recognising that there is currently an excellent opportunity to establish a presence in the CBD in quality positions and on competitive leasing rates, with a number of businesses looking to lock in long-term deals,' Lockwood said. Fitzroys' latest report, Walk the CBD, shows retail vacancies in the CBD have fallen to 6.1 per cent, down from 8 per cent a year ago and 14.1 per cent in 2023. Gikas and Lockwood have also leased a 148 sq m corner hospitality space, near GPT's Space & Co co-working lounge and event space, at 181 William Street to premium Japanese cafe Attakai, on a seven-year term. The return to hospitality has been strong in the past year, with the proportion of bars, cafes and restaurants increasing to 47.4 per cent of the city's footprint – up from 40.9 per cent last year and just 34.1 per cent in 2023.
Fox Sports
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Birmingham Stallions' Skip Holtz, J'Mar Smith reunite with chance to make history
For the fourth time in four years, the Birmingham Stallions ended up right where they expected to be when the 2025 UFL regular season came to a close: in the postseason, hosting the USFL Conference Championship Game at Protective Stadium. But the route they took to get back to within two wins of claiming a fourth consecutive professional spring football league title was circuitous. The Stallions entered their first season without former general manager and wunderkind Zach Potter and with some new faces making their way to Birmingham out of sheer necessity. The Stallions, who have never looked like an unbeatable team even when they have been virtually unbeatable, have made finding ways to win their hallmark. This season stands as the best example of that, especially at quarterback. What began with a former league MVP and championship-caliber QB in Alex McGough quickly became a near-season-long exercise in triage by coach Skip Holtz, who also acts as quarterbacks coach and playcaller. In 10 weeks, he's been forced to play five different quarterbacks and start four. Not one Birmingham QB has started more than three games, and only one has not been forced to miss playing time due to injury. And yet the Stallions enter the postseason sitting at 7-3 with an offense and defense that is playing so well that they beat the Memphis Showboats 46-9 in their regular-season finale. With so many changes in place, from injuries to new individuals running his offense, how has Holtz managed to come through this season with not only a winner, but a team that looks capable of taking the 2025 UFL crown? "I don't know," Holtz said with a brief chuckle as he attempted to put a season unlike any other he's coached into context. In 10 regular-season games, the Stallions have suffered injuries on the offensive line, defensive line and both cornerback positions. Still, the circumstances surrounding the team's quarterback room were unique. Just two of the five QBs on Birmingham's roster this season, McGough and Matt Corral, were present for the first five days of installation at training camp. Veteran Case Cookus joined the team a week late and was thrust into duty after McGough and Corral went down with injuries. Holtz even brought in former Wyoming QB Andrew Peasley to play meaningful snaps. That is when it became clear that Holtz wanted J'Mar Smith to return to the team. Holtz not only needed a player he could trust, but someone he was familiar with. When Corral went down, Holtz knew he needed to get a QB in his room who knew his offense, his scheme, and could give them a chance to finish the season with an offensive identity. "I tried to call J'Mar, but he was getting a new phone or something, and didn't call me back," Holtz said. "And so I went and moved on Peasley, not thinking that he would be interested." Eventually, Smith got in touch with Holtz and let him know that he was indeed interested, but the timing didn't work, as an offer had already extended to Peasley. Corral suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve by the Stallions, and that's when Smith got the call. Holtz found a roster spot and succeeded in getting Smith on the sideline in time for Birmingham's game against conference rival Houston in Week 7. Down 25-6 at halftime, the Stallions looked like they were on their way to another loss, which would put them squarely on the bubble to make the postseason with just three games left in the regular season. And then Cookus, who started that game, reaggravated a knee injury. Holtz put his former Louisiana Tech star quarterback in, and the Stallions finished with the biggest comeback win in UFL history, scoring 27 unanswered points in a memorable 33-25 win. In that game, Smith looked like the player he was at Louisiana Tech, where he averaged better than 3,000 passing yards per season as a three-year starter. The former Bulldog standout, who has thrown for more than 10,000 yards with Holtz as his playcaller, showed off his elite playmaking ability, completing 3-of-5 passes for 63 yards and adding a rushing score in the victory. It was then, in that Week 7 comeback win over the Roughnecks, that Holtz found his quarterback. Since then, the Stallions have gone 3-1 when Smith is under center, including going 22-of-31 for 306 yards and two touchdowns against conference-title foe Michigan in Week 9. "I still had my questions after the St. Louis game [Week 8]," Holtz said. "But it was after the game against Michigan that I said, 'There you go now.' That's when the thing went off where you went, 'All right, that's our guy.'" Smith has relished the opportunity to lead the Stallions into the postseason as QB1. Though he started the first-ever USFL game for Holtz, he has never had the chance to be "The Guy" in the postseason, and now, Smith's son will get to see his father play for a championship too. "I'm literally thinking about it, getting chills," Smith said of playing in front of his one-year-old son. "It's just one of the big things that was very special to me about having this opportunity to play again." It's a gorgeous moment for Holtz and Smith, who have known each other for 11 years — half of Smith's life — across college and professional football. "A lot of people can't say that they've been with their coach this long, especially playing football," Smith said. "In my situation, me being a quarterback and him being an offensive playcaller and coach, it is a great connection, a great feeling. "You understand what he wants. You know the offense: front, back, side-to-side." Both Holtz and Smith admitted that their connection has been a true strength over the last four weeks, and that is quite possibly the reason the Stallions could win the UFL title. In a league where change is a part of the game and being comfortable with the unfamiliar is the best trait you can possess, Holtz and Smith have the one attribute every coach and player in the UFL craves: chemistry built on experience, earned trust and an insatiable desire to be better tomorrow than each was today. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him at @RJ_Young . [Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily .] FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents critique care at Rochester's Frisbie Hospital under HCA
If you wanted to know how things have gone at Frisbie Memorial Hospital since for-profit HCA Healthcare, the world's largest hospital conglomerate, took over in 2020, Wednesday's public meeting in Rochester told two stories. Corporate leaders and hospital staff marched in lockstep to the podium and offered their own positive self-assessments. Residents came not to praise HCA, but to plead with the state's Health Care Consumer Protection Advisory Commission and Attorney General John Formella to help make their community hospital better. The meeting was 2½ hours long so everyone who signed up could speak. The first 88 minutes of input, however, was almost entirely HCA and Frisbie officials talking about the strides they've made. State Sen. Tom McGough and state Rep. Julie Miles, both Merrimack Republicans who are on the commission, prodded doctors, nurses and officials to speak in unscripted terms, answer questions and be accountable to patients. 'That's a great testimonial from the CMO. I'm thrilled to hear that things have come back — ortho, neuro, partial hospital psych services. That's fantastic. We've got a room full of folks. What are we about to hear? What are you still missing?' McGough asked Dr. Trevor Eide, the chief medical officer. Eide said Frisbie's goal is to take care of as many patients as possible in Rochester and send only the sickest patients to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, which is also owned by HCA. 'If I had to say there's one thing that I'd like to have back, one service line, I think nephrology to provide dialysis for our dialysis patients.' Eide said when pressed. Hospital officials listed several areas of improvement, including faster turnaround to transfer critically ill patients to other hospitals and better access to outpatient services, primary care and specialists. Frisbie has also decreased the time it takes a patient coming into the emergency room to be evaluated by a provider, which is now less than six minutes, according to Dr. Carly Shiembob, the medical director for Frisbie's emergency department. Yvonne Goldsberry, a member of the commission, suggested HCA provide a community benefit report like nonprofit hospitals are required to share with the public. Goldsberry, Formella, McGough and Miles all suggested better communication and community outreach. Merger fallout Residents focused mostly on services they lost after HCA saved Frisbie from closing just before COVID-19 hit. Commission members also made note of services Frisbie no longer provides, such as discontinuing labor and baby delivery services. In 2022, Formella's office investigated why HCA, which had agreed as part of the merger in 2020 to continue several services for at least five years, reneged on its promise and began sending expectant mothers 21 miles down the Spaulding Turnpike to Portsmouth. Ultimately, HCA and the AG's Office worked out a deal in 2023 for HCA to provide $2.75 million to the Greater Rochester Community Health Foundation to improve health and well-being for Rochester-area residents. 'How would you have us spend the $2.75 million, which is not much to a big company like HCA. But that money came from HCA and, let's face it, it's got to be part of the cost of business. How would you have this commission spend it?' McGough asked Rochester Mayor Paul Callaghan, one of the speakers who praised Frisbie. Callaghan suggested using the money to improve mental health and drug addiction services. Sharp criticism Dr. Mike Metzger, who worked at Frisbie as a cardiologist from 2005 to 2023 and now works at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, said the most seasoned doctors and nurses have left Frisbie. 'I feel like HCA does have a playbook, and it knows how to harvest its profit,' Metzger said. 'I say this with great sadness. I was one of the biggest cheerleaders of Frisbie, but I feel like this has to be said. While there may be some services there, they're nominally there. Most patients are being transported to Portsmouth Hospital.' Sharon Croft, who was born at Frisbie and was a school nurse for almost 30 years, said she and others lost their doctors and received little or no notification. Others said the bad communication about doctor departures put some of them in a bind when it came time to renew the medications they relied on or couldn't find where their doctors moved to. Incidents like those eroded trust in the hospital and HCA, they said. 'Even though we hear all of these good things, people that I deal with, people in my neighborhood, they don't want to go to Frisbie,' Croft said. 'They want to go someplace else. It's not the people, it's what's available to them, and whether they are actually going to get the things they need. Or are they going to end up going someplace else anyway?' Roberta Goodrich, who lived in Rochester for 22 years before moving to Wakefield and previously worked at Frisbee, was disappointed when HCA closed the White Mountain Medical Center, the Barrington Walk-In Care and Seacoast Readicare in Somersworth. HCA officials said they had to close their clinics because they were losing money and didn't have enough patients to justify staying open. Goodrich said the reduction in services makes it clear that HCA values profits over patients. 'Since the HCA acquisition, Frisbie Hospital no longer has labor and delivery maternity care. How many women want to have prenatal care and then find out they have to go somewhere else to deliver,' Goodrich said. 'Delivery doesn't really generate much money for the company unless it's a complicated delivery or involves a C section.' Marsha Miller, who lives across the street from Frisbie, said she goes to Wentworth-Douglass because her husband can't get the care he needs in their home city. 'No matter what stories we hear today, and they are awesome, the reality is that people in Rochester that have touched the hospital before these changes, have that negative image,' Miller said. She said Frisbie can overcome the negative perception with better care and better communication. Putting patients first Formella was asked why so many people from HCA took up the majority of time during public comments and why residents didn't get to speak until the meeting was more than half-way over. 'We're going to think hard about that going forward as to how to make sure that these forums are true community forums, and we hear mostly from community members,' Formella said. 'Obviously, we don't' want to tell people they can't speak, but we also need to make sure that we're setting this up in a way that we hear from the community. I think we heard a lot from the community tonight, but I think in forums going forward, we're going to work to make sure we're hearing even more from community members and less from representatives from corporations.' Goldsberry agreed, saying HCA knows how to stay on message. 'The hospital has a lot of resources, and when they come to public events, they come with all their resources,' she said. 'Community members don't have those kinds of resources.' She said the commission will balance the testimony during the public meeting with a large amount of feedback its received from residents who email in their concerns. To submit a question for the Health Care Consumer Protection Advisory Commission, email Christine Rioux at dpierce@
