Medicare’s ‘Part B’ outpatient premium to rise by $3.90 in 2021
WASHINGTON — Medicare’s ‘Part B’ monthly premium for outpatient care will go up by $3.90 next year to $148.50, officials announced late Friday afternoon.
For most retirees, the health care cost increase will claim a significant slice of their Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. It works out to nearly 20 percent of the average retired worker’s COLA of $20 a month next year.
The bite could have been deeper. It was feared that emergency actions the government took to help stabilize the health care system in the coronavirus pandemic could have triggered large premium increases. That prompted Congress to pass bipartisan legislation that limited the increase for 2021 but would gradually collect the full amount later under a repayment mechanism.
The Part B premium is set by law to cover about 25 percent of the cost of Medicare’s supplemental insurance for outpatient services. Inpatient care is covered by Medicare’s “Part A,” which is financed with payroll taxes from workers and employers.
Medicare also announced that the Part B deductible next year will be $203, an increase of $5. The deductible is the amount patients pay each year before their insurance kicks in.
Trio of earthquakes shake Alaska’s largest city, but no damage reports
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Three earthquakes early Saturday morning shook Alaska’s largest city, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
The strongest of the three, at magnitude 5.0, was recorded just before 3:30 a.m.. The Alaska Earthquake Center says that was followed by a magnitude 3.9 quake minutes later.
The third earthquake was magnitude 4.4 and was recorded just after 6 a.m.
All three quakes were centered about 20 miles north of Anchorage. All were located at depths of about 25 miles.
The center says all three quakes were felt in the greater Anchorage area and in Wasilla, about 45 miles north of Anchorage.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement that it will be checking for earthquake damage at the Knik River bridges. Northbound traffic will be diverted to the Old Glenn Highway while the inspections happen.
First woman free-climbs El Capitan’s Golden Gate route in one day
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Rock climber Emily Harrington has become the first woman, and fourth person, to free-climb the Golden Gate route on Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-foot granite wall in a single day.
While most of the country was focused on the results of the U.S. presidential election early Wednesday, the 34-year-old began to scale El Capitan, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. She reached the top 21 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds later. Only three people — all men — have made the free climb on that route in a day.
Free climbers use ropes to catch them if they fall, but not to help them ascend.
El Capitan is one of the world’s most famous climbing spots. It has been a proving ground for the best climbers for decades in the national park, which many consider the birthplace of modern rock climbing.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow quarantines after coronavirus exposure
LOS ANGELES — MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said Friday she was quarantining after being in contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Maddow said on social media that she’s tested negative so far for COVID-19 but plans to remain at home until it’s “safe for me to be back at work without putting anyone at risk.”
Maddow, host of MSNBC’s most-watched show, has been a key part of the cable channel’s election coverage. She was off the air Friday night.
“Wishing everyone patience and calm; may these remarkable times bring out the best in all of us,” she wrote in her online message.
MSNBC declined to comment on Maddow’s announcement.
Gun-waving St. Louis couple sues news photographer
ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis couple facing felony charges for waving guns at racial injustice protesters who marched near their home allege in a lawsuit that a news photographer trespassed to capture an image of the confrontation.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, lawyers in their 60s, filed the lawsuit Friday in St. Louis Circuit Court against United Press International photographer Bill Greenblatt and the wire service, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
At issue was a protest on June 28, when a few hundred marchers veered onto the private street near the the McCloskeys’ $1.15 million home in St. Louis’ posh Central West End area. Mark McCloskey emerged with an AR-15 rifle and his wife displayed a semiautomatic handgun.
Newspaper photographers are allowed to capture images from public rights of way. The McCloskeys live on a private street and have argued that protesters were trespassing. No one was hurt, and the McCloskeys have pleaded not guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and evidence tampering.
The couple said Greenblatt’s photo has contributed to their “significant national recognition and infamy.” In addition to Greenblatt and the news service, the McCloskeys are suing Redbubble Inc., a San Francisco-based online marketplace for print-on-demand products.
