‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte A devastating house fire Monday night in Port Charlotte has left one person dead and another hospitalized while neighbors mourn the possible loss of a beloved member of their community.
‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd A woman is heartbroken from witnessing crash after crash outside her Lehigh Acres home.
Fort Myers get 15% increase on flood insurance discount WINK News is finding out what led to the city of Fort Myers going from just a 5% FEMA flood insurance discount to a 20% discount.
FORT MYERS Locals house California wildfire victims The effects of the California fires are being felt worldwide as people evacuate some are in southwest Florida.
LOVERS KEY Couple returns to Lovers Key condo post Ian While Hurricane Ian is long gone from Southwest Florida, many are still feeling its impacts.
EVERGLADES Biden signs Water Resources Development Act, its effect on SWFL President Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act with an aim to improve rivers and harbors across the country and provide for the conservation of water. Southwest Florida was included in that act. Putting the 240-page plan together took a lot of work, not just from state and federal lawmakers, but also […]
Turning business travel into a vacation Would work travel seem a little easier if you could turn it into a vacation? Two professors say they have proof that would help business travel.
The future of biometrics: Safer security or new AI risks? In 2021, the Transportation Service Agency (TSA) launched its new touchless identity solution in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport.
CAPE CORAL Pelican Elementary resource officer saves infant A school resource officer at Pelican Elementary saved an infants’ life at a traffic stop in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Progress being made on City View Park in Dunbar More promises made by a city that has not kept its promises for the last six years have some neighbors concerned about the future of their community.
COLLIER COUNTY Seacrest hoops player hits a full court buzzer beater Seacrest Country Day School boys basketball player Hayden Fuller hits full court buzzer beater against Aubrey Rogers.
NAPLES Cutting-edge ACL surgery reducing reinjury risk by 80% Known for its game-changing orthopedic repair options, Naples-based Arthrex has done it again.
NAPLES MacStrength FL offers sport and lifestyle training for young athletes In 2025, MacStrength FL is swinging for success with their current players and for a wider reach in its community.
You can appeal FEMA’s decision on your claim – Here’s how Now a week after the deadline for FEMA hurricane assistance has closed, the federal agency says you can appeal their decision on your claim if you don’t agree.
Naples selects city CFO as next city manager, averts national search Naples Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Gary Young will become the next city manager, averting a lengthy, expensive national search for a replacement.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte A devastating house fire Monday night in Port Charlotte has left one person dead and another hospitalized while neighbors mourn the possible loss of a beloved member of their community.
‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd A woman is heartbroken from witnessing crash after crash outside her Lehigh Acres home.
Fort Myers get 15% increase on flood insurance discount WINK News is finding out what led to the city of Fort Myers going from just a 5% FEMA flood insurance discount to a 20% discount.
FORT MYERS Locals house California wildfire victims The effects of the California fires are being felt worldwide as people evacuate some are in southwest Florida.
LOVERS KEY Couple returns to Lovers Key condo post Ian While Hurricane Ian is long gone from Southwest Florida, many are still feeling its impacts.
EVERGLADES Biden signs Water Resources Development Act, its effect on SWFL President Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act with an aim to improve rivers and harbors across the country and provide for the conservation of water. Southwest Florida was included in that act. Putting the 240-page plan together took a lot of work, not just from state and federal lawmakers, but also […]
Turning business travel into a vacation Would work travel seem a little easier if you could turn it into a vacation? Two professors say they have proof that would help business travel.
The future of biometrics: Safer security or new AI risks? In 2021, the Transportation Service Agency (TSA) launched its new touchless identity solution in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport.
CAPE CORAL Pelican Elementary resource officer saves infant A school resource officer at Pelican Elementary saved an infants’ life at a traffic stop in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Progress being made on City View Park in Dunbar More promises made by a city that has not kept its promises for the last six years have some neighbors concerned about the future of their community.
COLLIER COUNTY Seacrest hoops player hits a full court buzzer beater Seacrest Country Day School boys basketball player Hayden Fuller hits full court buzzer beater against Aubrey Rogers.
NAPLES Cutting-edge ACL surgery reducing reinjury risk by 80% Known for its game-changing orthopedic repair options, Naples-based Arthrex has done it again.
NAPLES MacStrength FL offers sport and lifestyle training for young athletes In 2025, MacStrength FL is swinging for success with their current players and for a wider reach in its community.
You can appeal FEMA’s decision on your claim – Here’s how Now a week after the deadline for FEMA hurricane assistance has closed, the federal agency says you can appeal their decision on your claim if you don’t agree.
Naples selects city CFO as next city manager, averts national search Naples Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Gary Young will become the next city manager, averting a lengthy, expensive national search for a replacement.
File photo. Credit: MGN WASHINGTON (AP) — With time running out on open enrollment season, many seniors are facing sharply higher premiums for Medicare’s popular prescription drug program. The reason: rising drug costs have overtaken a long stretch of stable premiums. Beneficiaries have until Dec. 7 to see if there’s a lower-cost plan that will cover their medications in 2016. Consumer advocates and experts say it will pay to shop around this sign-up season. “Premiums are going up. Deductibles are going up,” said Tricia Neuman, a Medicare expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “There is some potential to save a lot of money by switching plans.” Government spending on the program also has risen significantly, driven by pricey new drugs, notably for hepatitis C infection. The cost for the hepatitis drugs in the Medicare program is expected to be $9.2 billion this year, nearly doubling from 2014. Because of the prescription program’s financial structure, taxpayers cover most of the cost for expensive medications. Three out of four adults infected with hepatitis C are baby boomers, the group now entering Medicare. Also known as “Part D,” Medicare’s prescription plan serves about 40 million older and disabled people. Benefits are provided through a variety of insurance arrangements. Stand-alone drug plans that work with traditional Medicare are the most popular, accounting for more than half of beneficiaries — about 24 million people. Sal Natale, a retired dentist who lives near Tampa, Florida, said prescription premiums for him and his wife are going up about 30 percent next year, and he doesn’t see a good alternative. “I’m just going to grin and bear and hope it starts moderating,” Natale said. The couple is signed up in the Humana Enhanced plan, one of the top 10. Nationally, premiums for that plan are going up by about $13 a month, according to the Kaiser foundation. Indicators signal rising costs across the program. Among them: —independent estimates by Kaiser and the consulting firm Avalere Health show increasing premiums for stand-alone drug plans. The average premium will rise from $36.68 to $41.46 per month next year, or 13 percent, according to Kaiser. Even if many beneficiaries switch to lower-cost options, it’s likely to be the biggest increase since 2009. —the maximum deductible for prescription coverage will rise by $40, to $360. That’s the biggest increase in the deductible since the inception of Part D in 2006. The deductible is the amount of drug costs that beneficiaries must pay each year before their insurance kicks in. —taxpayer expenditures for the “catastrophic” portion of the benefit — in which beneficiaries with high drug bills pay only 5 percent of the cost — will rise by $4.5 billion in 2016, an increase of more than 14 percent. Spending for catastrophic coverage has doubled in just a short time, from $15.5 billion in 2012 to an estimated $31.2 billion this year. The analyses from Kaiser and Avalere are seemingly at odds with the message coming from the Obama administration, which estimates that drug premiums will remain stable in 2016, averaging $32.50 a month. But the administration and the independent analysts measure differently. For example, the administration adjusts its number for the estimated impact of people assumed to be switching to lower-premium plans. The outside analysts don’t make similar assumptions. Instead, they focus on what’s happening to premiums in the plans for which people are currently signed up. Nationally, average premiums are going up by more than 15 percent in five of the top eight plans, according to the Kaiser study. Two plans will see single-digit increases. One plan — SilverScript Choice — will see a small reduction. The most popular plan — AARP MedicareRx Preferred — will go up from $50.19 to $60.79, a 21 percent increase. Sean Cavanaugh, deputy administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration has a good track record with its estimates. “We do think ours is more illustrative of what beneficiaries actually experience,” he said. Cavanaugh did say the administration is concerned about the cost of new breakthrough drugs. The insurers who deliver Medicare’s prescription benefit have limited options for bargaining down the prices of those medications, because usually there’s no competing alternative. “The challenge in the Part D program is around high-cost specialty drugs,” said Cavanaugh. “We certainly have to be concerned about anything that’s driving that much cost in our program.” With polls showing that drug costs are the top health care issue for the public, presidential candidates are weighing in. Options they propose range from giving Medicare direct authority to negotiate drug prices, backed by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton, to speeding up approval of new drugs, advanced by Republican Jeb Bush. Consumer advocates are skeptical that seniors shopping for better deals will be sufficient to blunt the cost increases. Finding a new plan can be overwhelming, said Bonnie Burns, a longtime Medicare counselor with nonprofit California Health Advocates. “People can’t deal with the complexity of deductibles, coverage tiers, and prior approval,” she said. Natale, the Florida retiree, says he’s not sure what the right answer is. He’s wary of government controls on private industry, but the relentless growth of costs worries him. “I really don’t think I have much of an option for protecting me and my wife if I get some serious illness and I need big-time drugs,” he said.