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Lenders often encourage federal student loan borrowers to enroll in automatic payments, offering them a slightly lower interest rate if they do so.
But a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows that the companies can pull incorrect amounts from borrowers’ bank accounts, and that wait times for refunds can stretch on for months.

Boogich | E+ | Getty Images

Lenders often encourage federal student loan borrowers to enroll in automatic payments. It can seem like a good idea to do so: Borrowers don’t need to worry about missing a payment and often get a slightly lower interest rate in exchange.
However, the decision can backfire in a lending space plagued by problems that have “harmed millions of borrowers,” according to a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Unfortunately, autopay errors were one of the most widespread, basic and consequential servicer errors we saw this year,” CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Julia Barnard told CNBC. “These errors are incredibly costly and completely unacceptable.”
In some cases, borrowers had money pulled from their bank accounts despite never consenting to autopay, Barnard said. Other autopay users saw incorrect amounts taken or were charged multiple times in the same month.
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CNBC wrote in 2023 about a woman who was supposed to have a $0 monthly student loan payment under the plan she was enrolled in, but was charged $2,074 one month. After that unexpected debit, she worried she wouldn’t be able to pay her mortgage.
In March, one borrower told the CFPB that their student loan servicer took $6,897 from their account when they only owed $1,048.

“Borrowers have told the CFPB that these errors have made it hard or impossible for them to cover basic needs like food, medical care and rent,” Barnard said.

What borrowers can do about autopay errors

Despite the issues some student loan borrowers experience, higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz recommends that people remain enrolled in the automatic payments.
After all, it’s one of the only ways to get an interest rate discount, he said. The savings is typically 0.25%.
In addition, he said, “they are less likely to be late with a payment.”
But some borrowers on a tight budget may prefer to forgo those benefits to make sure they’re not overcharged, experts said.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself from incorrect billing, Kantrowitz said.
You can set up an alert with your bank and get notified whenever a debit occurs over a certain amount. If you set that amount a little under what your student loan bill should be, you can use that alert to check that the debit was correct each month and also have a record of your payment history, which can be especially helpful to those working toward loan forgiveness, Kantrowitz said.
If your loan servicer takes the wrong amount from your bank account, you should immediately contact the servicer and demand a refund, Kantrowitz said. You should also ask your servicer to cover any late fees from bounced checks or an overdraft, he said.
Unfortunately, Barnard says, the CFPB has heard from borrowers who weren’t able to get a timely refund.
“We’ve seen instances where borrowers have waited months or even years to receive a refund related to autopay errors,” she said.
As a result, she also suggests borrowers reach out to their bank about the incorrect payment.
“The borrowers’ financial institution may be able to quickly resolve errors in autopay amounts,” she said, so long as the borrower notifies them within 10 business days of the amount being debited.
If you run into a wall with your servicer, you can file a complaint with the Education Department’s feedback system at Studentaid.gov/feedback. Problems can also be reported to the Federal Student Aid’s Ombudsman, Kantrowitz said. More

Congressional lawmakers will soon debate expiring tax breaks and new promises from President-elect Donald Trump.
The debate could be complicated amid competing priorities and concerns over the federal budget deficit.
“This is a lot more complicated than just the reds against the blues,” said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2024.
Allison Robbert | Via Reuters

Congressional lawmakers will soon debate expiring tax breaks and new promises from President-elect Donald Trump.
Agreeing on cuts and spending, however, could be a challenge.

With a majority in the House of Representatives and Senate, Republican lawmakers can pass sweeping tax legislation through “reconciliation,” which bypasses the Senate filibuster. Republicans could begin the budget reconciliation process during Trump’s first 100 days in office.
But choosing priorities could be difficult, particularly amid the federal budget deficit, policy experts said Tuesday at a Brookings Institution event in Washington.
Legislators will be “representing their districts, not their party,” Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said Tuesday in a panel discussion at the Brookings event.
“This is a lot more complicated than just the reds against the blues,” he said.
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‘Political divisions’ could be a barrier

With a slim majority in Congress, Republican lawmakers will soon negotiate with several blocks within their party. Some of these groups have competing priorities.
Enacted by Trump in 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, is a key priority for the next administration.
Without action from Congress, trillions of tax breaks from the TCJA will expire after 2025. These include lower tax brackets, higher standard deductions, a more generous child tax credit, bigger estate and gift tax exemption, and a 20% tax break for pass-through businesses, among other provisions.

The more things you try to bring in, the more potential political divisions we have to navigate.

Molly Reynolds
senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings Institution

Tax bill could take longer than expected

Since budget reconciliation involves multiple steps, policy experts say the Republican tax bill could take months.
Plus, Congress has until Dec. 20 to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. A stopgap bill could push the deadline to January or March, which could take time from Trump’s tax priorities.
“The idea that they’re going to do this in 100 days, I think, is foolish,” Gleckman said. “My over-under is Dec. 31, 2025, and that might be optimistic.”
However, the bill could get through by Oct. 1, 2025, which closes the federal government’s fiscal year, other policy experts say.

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The Education Department said the 2025-26 FAFSA is now available to all students and families, ahead of schedule.
Students should file the FAFSA as soon as they can, experts say.

This week, the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid expanded its “phased rollout” so all students can now apply for aid for the upcoming academic year.
Up until Monday, the 2025-26 FAFSA was only available to limited groups of students in a series of beta tests that began on Oct. 1.

Now, the form is open to all and the Department of Education has said it will be out of testing entirely by Nov. 22 — which puts the official launch ahead of schedule. Since Monday, more than 50,000 forms have been successfully submitted, according to a department official.
Typically, all students have access to the coming academic year’s form in October, but last year’s new simplified form wasn’t available until late December after a monthslong delay.
This year, the plan was to be available to all students and contributors on or before Dec. 1.
Students who submit a form during this final “expanded beta” phase before Nov. 22 will not need to submit a subsequent 2025–26 FAFSA form, the Education Department said.
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There are still some issues with the new form, some of which also plagued last year’s college aid application cycle, but they all have workarounds, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Altogether, this year’s rollout is “much better than last year,” he said. 
Last year, complications with the new form resulted in some students not applying at all. Ultimately, that meant fewer students went on to college.

Why it’s important to file the FAFSA early

“Students should take full advantage of the early rollout and submit their FAFSA as soon as possible,” said Shaan Patel, founder and CEO of Prep Expert, which provides Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Test preparation courses.
The earlier families fill out the form, the better their chances are of receiving aid, since some financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, or from programs with limited funds.
“The earlier you apply, the better your chances of securing more aid that doesn’t need to be repaid,” Patel said.
“Submitting early also means you’ll receive your financial aid award letters sooner,” he said. “This gives you ample time to compare offers from different schools and make an informed decision without feeling rushed. Finally, knowing your child’s financial aid status earlier reduces stress and allows your family to focus on other important aspects of college preparation.”

For many students, financial aid is key.
Higher education already costs more than most families can afford, and college costs are still rising. Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $58,600 in the 2024-25 school year, up from $56,390 a year earlier. At four-year, in-state public colleges, it was $24,920, up from $24,080, the College Board found.
The FAFSA serves as the gateway to all federal aid money, including federal student loans, work-study and especially grants — which have become the most crucial kind of assistance because they typically do not need to be repaid.
Submitting a FAFSA is also one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will go on to college, according to the National College Attainment Network. Seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely to enroll in college directly after high school, according to an NCAN study of 2013 data. 

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Few Americans — even millionaires — feel confident about their financial standing.
High costs and home prices and have made it harder to feel rich.

Inflation is cooling and wages are rising. Yet, few Americans — including millionaires — feel confident about their financial standing.
Across all income and asset levels, 89% of Americans said they do not consider themselves wealthy, according to Fidelity Investments’ State of Wealth Mobility study. Fidelity polled 1,900 adults in August.

“Only one-tenth of Americans consider themselves wealthy today — despite many having considerable wealth,” said Rich Compson, head of wealth solutions at Fidelity Investments.
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For most Americans, the definition of what it means to be wealthy is relatively modest, with 71% saying being wealthy is simply the ability to not have to live paycheck to paycheck.
Roughly 57% said wealth also entails traveling and taking vacations, while 56% said it’s being able to pass down money to the next generation.
Nearly half — 49% — said feeling wealthy meant the ability to own a home, Fidelity found.

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For high-net worth individuals, or those with $1 million or more in savings and investable assets not including real estate or retirement funds, more households associated wealth with traveling and fewer said a major criterion for feeling wealthy was not living paycheck to paycheck.
Surprisingly, the same share — 49% — said being wealthy meant owning a home.

Obstacles to feeling wealthy

Housing affordability has become a major hurdle.
High home prices and higher mortgage rates along with low inventory have put ownership just out of reach for many households.
One “silver lining” is that affordability has improved somewhat since October 2023, when mortgage rates were near 8%, according to a new analysis by Freddie Mac.

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | Digitalvision | Getty Images

Although vacationing has also gotten more expensive, Americans are still determined to travel.
Travel spending among households continues to outpace its pre-pandemic levels, some reports show.
However, concerns about high prices are playing a larger role in keeping some would-be vacationers home. Those that are travelling have had to adjust their budgets accordingly, spending roughly 10% more compared to 2023, according to another study by Deloitte.

Rising debt is another threat to wealth

At the same time, rising consumer debt has weighed on household balance sheets. Nearly half, 44%, of Americans said credit card debt is the biggest threat to their ability to build wealth, according to a separate report by Edelman Financial Engines.
Americans now owe a record $1.17 trillion on their credit cards, and the average balance per consumer stands at $6,329, up 4.8% year over year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and TransUnion, respectively.

“High interest rate credit card debt, more than other sorts of debt, is a savings killer, because when you have it, you have to feed the beast. You can’t save, you can’t invest,” Jean Chatzky, personal finance expert and CEO of HerMoney.com, told CNBC in September.
“That stands in the way of people building actual wealth and therefore feeling wealthier,” she said.

What it would take to feel rich

Most people — roughly 65% of those polled — said they would need $1 million in the bank to consider themselves wealthy, although 28% said it would take at least $2 million and 19% put the bar at $5 million or more, Edelman Financial Engines found.
Among current millionaires, 68% said they would need at least $3 million and 40% said feeling wealthy would require $5 million of more.
Edelman Financial Engines polled more than 3,000 adults over age 30 from June 12 to July 3, including 1,500 affluent Americans with household assets between $500,000 and $3 million.
When it comes to their salary, 58% of all of those surveyed said they would need to earn $100,000 on average to not worry about everyday living expenses, and a quarter said they would need to earn more than $200,000 to feel financially secure.
In most cases, feeling financially secure is not based on how much you earn, but rather a commitment to save more than you spend, maintain a well-diversified portfolio and work with a financial advisor, experts often say.
“Having confidence in being able to invest strategically is what often separates those who feel they are wealthy from those who don’t,” said Fidelity’s Compson. “Improved confidence starts with education and planning.”
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Some last-minute holiday travelers are leaning into so-called “Travel Tuesday” — or the Tuesday after Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
Travel Tuesday falls on Dec. 3 this year. 
Yet there may be some limitations. Here’s what to know.

If you still haven’t booked your holiday travel plans, take note: Prices tend to rise the closer you get to the days you’re looking to travel. 
To afford holiday trips, about 50% of respondents are cutting back on other expenses while 49% are picking up discounts and deals, according to the 2024 Holiday Travel Outlook by Hopper, a travel site.

Some last-minute holiday travelers are leaning into so-called “Travel Tuesday” — or the Tuesday after Cyber Monday and Black Friday — which falls on Dec. 3 this year.
Search interest for Travel Tuesday rose more than 500% from 2021 to 2023, according to a recent report by McKinsey and Company.
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There’s a reason why shoppers are searching for the term.
Last year, 83% more deals were offered on Travel Tuesday versus Cyber Monday and 92% more than Black Friday, according to Hopper data.

Yet, there may be some limitations on the deals available, experts say.
“The challenge for a lot of people is, ‘Do I wait?'” said Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet. 
For travelers who are set on specific days and places to visit, the answer might be “no.”
“While airlines and online travel agencies are going to offer flight deals on Travel Tuesday, there is no reason to wait,” said Phil Dengler, co-founder of The Vacationer, a travel platform.
How much you benefit from potential discounts on Travel Tuesday will depend on your flexibility, experts say. 
“If you have zero flexibility,” said Hayley Berg, economist at Hopper, then “if you see a good deal before Travel Deal Tuesday, feel free to book it.” 

How Travel Tuesday works

People wait in line for security checkpoints ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 22, 2023. 
Vincent Alban | Reuters

Similar to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, Travel Tuesday deals sometimes begin to roll out before the day itself, said Dengler. They might even stretch into the day after. 
Nonetheless, you will typically need to book the flight, hotel stay or cruise trip by the end of the day in order to reap the benefits, he said. 
As you shop, make sure to read the fine print in case discounts only apply for certain routes and days, Dengler explained. 
Retailers often have a limited stock for Black Friday and Cyber Monday doorbusters. With Travel Tuesday, there may be a limited number of airline seats or hotel rooms, NerdWallet’s French said.
“They’re not going to fly two planes on the same route at the same time,” she said.

‘Be ready’ to book

Travel Tuesday might be better suited for deciding when and where you’ll go for an upcoming vacation in 2025, versus a very specific itinerary home over the holidays.
If you are not flexible on the days and destinations you plan to travel to and you find a flight available at a price you’re comfortable with, “book that trip right now,” French said. 
“If you wait until Travel Tuesday, then that deal could be gone,” she said. “You don’t want to wait for Travel Tuesday for it to be sold out.”
In some cases, it doesn’t hurt to book ahead and keep browsing for potential price drops, experts say.
You typically have 24 hours from booking to cancel for a full refund as long, as it’s seven days before a flight’s scheduled departure time, Dengler said. Plus, some airlines don’t have change fees for non-basic economy fares, he said.
If those terms are in your favor, “if you see a better deal on Travel Tuesday, simply cancel your current bookings and book the Travel Tuesday offer,” Dengler said.

On the flip side, if you’re less tied to specific dates and places, but have a general sense of where and when you want to travel, then holding off until discount days may be worthwhile.
“We tend to see the deals do get better and better the closer we are to actual Black Friday or actual Travel Tuesday,” French said.
The biggest takeaway for travelers is to start thinking about what you might want to book, Berg said. 
“I really encourage travelers to do that exploration now so that on Travel Deal Tuesday, they can be ready to actually book,” she said. More

Henry Schein shares climbed about 7.5% in Monday trading, clinching their best day since 2022.
Financial firm Gordon Haskett said Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advocacy for removing fluoride in public water can help demand for companies like Henry Schein that make dental hygiene products.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. November 1, 2024. 
Joel Angel Juarez | Reuters

Dental care supplier Henry Schein advanced in Monday trading as investors bet that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, could recommend removing fluoride from the U.S. water system, a move that would lead to a boom in dental visits.
Shares of Henry Schein shares jumped about 7.5%, notching its best day since 2022. Fellow dental product makers Dentsply Sirona and Envista also rose in the session.

Monday’s moves come as investors ready for public health changes under a second Trump administration. Kennedy posted on X before the presidential election this month that a “Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”

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Fluoride has long been shown as an effective method for fighting cavities. But the mineral has found itself at the center of a nationwide fight that’s led some local communities to end programs centered on its insertion into public water.
While Kennedy will need to win Senate approval to take the job, market participants are already zeroing in on a group of stocks that make dental hygiene products as potential beneficiaries of his policies. That’s because taking fluoride out of water would actually put the tooth cleaning industry in higher demand as consumers look elsewhere to fight cavities, according to firm Gordon Haskett.

A general view of the Henry Schein Inc. building a distributor of health care products and services with a presence in 32 countries, as photographed in Melville, New York.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Images

“The thought here is RFK will bring to HHS a voice that is in favor of reducing, or eliminating, the amount of fluoridation that is added to drinking water,” Don Bilson, Gordon Haskett’s head of event-driven research, told clients in a Monday note. “This will, in turn, lead to an acceleration of tooth decay and more dental visits.”
Henry Schein shares took a leg up in afternoon trading following a Reuters report that activist investor Ananym Capital was calling for changes at the company. The newly launched firm, which is led by Charlie Penner and Alex Silver, believes the board should be shaken up and costs should be cut, among other ideas.

Henry Schein and other stocks in the space offer a bright spot within a sector that has largely struggled since the election. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) has tumbled more than 3% in November, putting it on track for its first three-month losing steak since last year. By comparison, the broad S&P 500 has climbed more than 3% in the month.
Gordon Haskett’s Bilson also pointed out that dental stocks were some of the few “spared” health-focused equities as investors responded to the announcement of Kennedy’s nomination last week. Pharmaceutical names were under pressure given Kennedy’s reputation as a vaccine skeptic, while processed food stocks took a hit as traders geared up for increased scrutiny of so-called junk food.
“It caused widespread selling across the healthcare landscape,” Bilson said of the decision to select Kennedy. “Drugmakers, contract research organizations, and health insurers all felt the quake. Rather than stop there, the damage spilled into packaged foods. And advertising.”
While the market appears to be moving on Kennedy’s nomination, Bilson said that regulatory changes would likely take years to come into effect. He also noted that drinking water should fall more under the Environmental Protection Agency than Health and Human Services. More

President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House is poised to have big impacts on consumer health care.
Here’s what to know about potential changes coming to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrives on November 13, 2024 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. 
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House is poised to have big impacts on consumer health care.
Republicans may face few legislative roadblocks with their goals of reshaping health insurance in the U.S., experts said, after the party retained its slim majority in the House of Representatives and flipped the Senate, giving it control of both Congress and the presidency.

Households that get health insurance from Medicaid or an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan may see some of the biggest disruptions, due to reforms sought by Trump and Republican lawmakers, according to health policy experts.
Such reforms would free up federal funds that could be used to help pay for other Republican policy priorities like tax cuts, they said.

Just under 8% of the U.S. population is uninsured right now — the lowest rate in American history, said Michael Sparer, a professor at Columbia University and chair of its Department of Health Policy and Management. That figure was 17% when the Affordable Care Act was enacted more than a decade ago, he said.
“That rate will start going up again,” Sparer said.
Trump announced on Nov. 14 that he wants to tap Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS, in turn, administers the Affordable Care Act marketplace and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, among other endeavors.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a Turning Point Action Rally in Duluth, GA on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. 
The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who’s been accused of spreading conspiracy theories, has vowed to make big changes to the U.S. health-care system.
A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request from CNBC for comment about the president-elect’s health policy plans.
Here’s how health care could change for consumers during the incoming Trump administration, according to experts.

Affordable Care Act marketplace

A lab technician cares for a patient at Providence St. Mary Medical Center on March 11, 2022 in Apple Valley, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images

‘Betting’ premium subsidies will expire
Based on how the election went, the enhanced subsidies on the Affordable Care Act will likely not be renewed once they expire at the end of 2025, said Cynthia Cox, vice president and director of the ACA program at KFF, a health policy research organization.
“If I was going to place a bet on this, I’d be much more comfortable betting that they are going to expire,” Cox said.
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That government-backed aid, originally passed during the pandemic under the American Rescue Plan in 2021, has significantly lowered the costs of coverage for people buying health insurance plans on the ACA marketplace. Those customers include anyone who doesn’t have access to a workplace plan, such as students, self-employed consumers and unemployed people, among others.
An individual earning $60,000 a year now has a monthly premium of $425, compared with $539 before the enhanced subsidies, according to a rough estimate provided by Cox. Meanwhile, a family of four making about $120,000 currently pays $850 a month instead of $1,649.
Permanently extending the enhanced ACA subsidies could cost around $335 billion over the next 10 years, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office.
“They’re concerned about the cost, and they’re going to be cutting taxes next year likely,” Cox said, of Republicans.
Still, it’s a ‘big’ gamble to forgo health insurance
Around 3.8 million people will lose their health insurance if the subsidies expire, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Those who maintain their coverage are likely to pay higher premiums.
“The bottom line is uncertainty,” said Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
“The good news for marketplace consumers is that the enhanced [subsidies] will be available through 2025, so there should be no immediate changes,” Corlette added.

Even if the subsidies disappear, experts say it’s important to stay enrolled if you can, even if you have to make trade-offs on coverage to keep the costs within budget.
Enrolling in a plan, even a cheaper plan with a big annual deductible, can provide an important hedge against huge costs from unforeseen medical needs like surgery, said Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner based in Jacksonville, Florida.
“I can’t emphasize how big a gamble it is to go without health insurance,” said McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
“One heart attack easily costs $100,000” out of pocket for someone without insurance, she said. “Do you have that to pay?”

Medicaid

A ‘pretty big target’ for lawmakers
Medicaid is the third-largest program in the federal budget, accounting for $616 billion of spending in 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Trump campaigned on a promise not to make cuts to the two largest programs: Social Security and Medicare.
That makes Medicaid the “obvious place” for Republicans to raise revenue to finance their agenda, said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF.
“Medicaid will have a pretty big target on its back,” Levitt said.

The bottom line is uncertainty.

Sabrina Corlette
co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy

Cuts would “inevitably mean” fewer households would get benefits, Levitt said. Medicaid recipients tend to be lower-income households, people with disabilities and seniors in nursing homes, he said.
Medicaid cuts were a big part of the push among Trump and other Republican lawmakers to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Ac, also known as Obamacare, in 2017, Levitt said.
Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
How Medicaid might be curtailed

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images

The new Medicaid cuts may take many forms, according to experts, who cite past proposals and remarks from the Trump administration, Republican lawmakers and the Project 2025 conservative policy blueprint.
For example, the Trump administration may try to add work requirements for Medicaid recipients, as it did during his first term, said Sparer of Columbia University.
Additionally, Republicans may try to cap federal Medicaid spending allocated to states, experts said.
The federal government matches a portion — generally 50% or more — of states’ Medicaid spending. That dollar sum is uncapped.
Republicans may try to covert Medicaid to a block grant, whereby a fixed amount of money is provided annually to each state, or institute a per-capita cap, whereby benefits are limited for each Medicaid enrollee, Levitt said.
Lawmakers may also try to roll back the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which broadened the pool of people who qualify for coverage, experts said.
They could do this by cutting federal financing to the 40 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have expanded Medicaid eligibility. That would shift “an enormous financial risk to states, and many states as a result would drop the Medicaid expansion,” Levitt said.

Short-term health insurance plans

Under the previous Trump administration, consumers saw an increase in the availability of non-ACA compliant health insurance options, including short-term plans, experts say. The same is likely to happen over the next four years.
Short-term health insurance plans offer coverage for limited amounts of time, and typically on fewer medical services than comprehensive coverage.
Proponents of these plans say they allow insurers to offer consumers lower monthly premiums because they’re not required to cover as many services. At the same time, the plans are able to reject people with preexisting conditions or charge them more. While Trump was in office, enrollment in short-term plans spiked.

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Oct. 4, 2023.
Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

“The previous Trump administration and many in the GOP have called for expanding the marketing and sale of short-term plans and other insurance products that do not have to satisfy the ACA’s pre-existing condition standards and other consumer protections,” said Georgetown University’s Corlette.
She said that consumers can be attracted to the plans for their low costs, but often learn too late how thin the coverage is.

Drug prices

The Trump administration’s stance on drug pricing is murkier, health experts said.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022, introduced many drug price reforms.
Trump has vowed to roll back parts of the law, which also contains many climate-related provisions and tax breaks toward which he is hostile.

It’s unclear if lawmakers would keep the drug policies intact, experts said. Trump signed executive orders in 2020 aimed at lowering costs for prescription medications, for example.
“It’s not at all clear Trump will be a friend of the pharma industry,” Sparer said.
For example, the Inflation Reduction Act gave the federal government — for the first time — the authority to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies over some drugs covered by Medicare.
That provision is slated to kick in for 10 drugs — some of Medicare’s “most costly and most used” medications, treating a variety of ailments like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer — in 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The measure will save patients $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2026, CMS estimates. The federal government would expand the list of medications in ensuing years.
The Inflation Reduction Act also capped Medicare copays for insulin at $35 a month. They were previously uncapped. The average Medicare Part D insulin user had paid $54 out of pocket a month per insulin prescription in 2020, according to KFF.
The law also capped out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 a year for prescription drugs covered by Medicare, starting in 2025. There was previously no cap.
About 1.4 million Medicare Part D enrollees paid more than $2,000 out of pocket for medications in 2020, KFF found. Those costs averaged $3,355 a person.

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The number of Americans age 60 and older who lose $100,000 or more to fraud each year has more than tripled since 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Older adults most commonly lose such large sums of money to investment scams like those involving cryptocurrency, as well as romance and imposter scams, the FTC said.
There are three big red flags for consumers to know: social isolation, a sense or urgency and unusual payment methods, experts said.

Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

The number of older Americans who report losing more than $100,000 to fraud in a given year has more than tripled since 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission, a trend that experts say represents a grave and growing threat to older adults’ financial security.
In 2023, about 4,600 adults age 60 and older reported being defrauded of a six-figure sum, according to a report the FTC issued in October. That’s up from about 1,300 in 2020.

Such thefts can be especially devastating to older adults, who have less opportunity to earn back what they’ve lost, greatly impacting their quality of life in old age, experts said.

“It’s life altering,” said John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy group.
Aside from the financial blow, victims also bear the emotional “trauma of knowing they have to live rest of their life in poverty,” Breyault said.

Common scams targeting older Americans

Consumers overall lost $10 billion to scams in 2023, a record high, according to the FTC.
The figure is also $1 billion more than the fraud loss reported in 2022, despite the number of fraud reports being roughly the same, at about 2.6 million, the FTC said.

“Scammers are really getting more sophisticated, better at what they do and the technology they’re using seems to allow them to target victims with ever more precision,” Breyault said.
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Adults age 60 and older reported losing more than $1.9 billion to fraud last year, up from $1.6 billion in 2022, the FTC said.
The true scope of losses by older adults was likely significantly higher — around $62 billion in 2023 — after accounting for underreporting, the FTC said. Many Americans may not report these crimes to the police or other sources partly due to embarrassment about having been duped or because they assumed nothing could be done, according to a 2023 Gallup News poll.
Older adults were 60% more likely than younger ones to report losses exceeding $100,000 last year, according to the FTC. Criminals commonly stole such vast sums from older adults via romance scams, investment frauds and imposter scams, the FTC said.

Imposter scams often involved fraudsters impersonating friends and family or agents from technology firms like Microsoft, sweepstakes and lottery companies like Publishers Clearing House, institutions like banks and government agencies like the Social Security Administration, the FTC said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has also detailed a stark increase in internet crime defrauding older Americans in recent years. The average victim in that age group lost more than $34,000 in 2023, the FBI reported.
Investment scams, especially those involving fake cryptocurrency investment opportunities, accounted for the largest reported losses among all older adults in 2023: $538 million, up 34% from 2022, the FTC said.

3 common red flags of a scam

“We’d all like to believe we could spot an online scam a mile away,” the National Council of Aging wrote this year. “But the truth is that con artists and cybercriminals are getting craftier and more sophisticated by the day.”
That said, would-be victims can protect themselves by recognizing three common tactics used by scammers, Breyault said:
1. Sense of urgency
Criminals often try to create a “heightened state of emotional urgency,” Breyault said.
This psychological tactic pushes victims to act impulsively, rushing them into making decisions or providing sensitive information without thinking, according to NCOA.
“Fraudsters may say an offer is good for a limited time only, a product is about to run out, or that you must make a payment immediately to prevent negative consequences,” NCOA said.
2. Social isolation
Scammers try to prevent consumers from talking to a third party. For example, they might say, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Don’t go to the cops. This is an investment no one knows about so don’t tell anyone about this. It’s our little secret,” Breyault said.
“If you’re unsure about the person you’re talking to or what you’re being told, ask a friend or family member for advice before taking any further steps,” NCOA said. “Sending a quick screenshot of a text, or simply walking through the scenario with someone you trust, can often help you see things more clearly.”
3. Unusual ways to pay
Criminals often ask victims to make a payment by buying gift cards, sending a wire transfer, going to a bitcoin ATM, or sending money through a peer-to-peer transaction on a platform like Zelle or Venmo, for example, Breyault said.
Consumers generally don’t have recourse to be refunded money in such circumstances, he said.
While there are “legitimate” uses for such payment methods, they often appear “unusual” in the context of a fraud: For example, why would a loved one who claims to need cash ask you to send money via a bitcoin ATM? Breyault said.
“When you do buy products online, make sure you only use a payment option that offers reimbursement for authorized payments (such as most major credit cards),” NCOA wrote. “Using a form of direct payment, such as a payment app, is essentially the same as sending cash. You may not be able to receive a refund.” More