DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former technology executive Carly Fiorina will not appear on the primetime debate stage when the Republican Party's 2016 presidential class faces off later this week in South Carolina.
Debate host Fox Business Network announced the debate lineup Monday evening, dealing a blow to both candidates three weeks before Iowa's leadoff presidential caucuses. Just seven candidates — the smallest Republican group so far — will be featured in Thursday's 9 p.m. ET main event, based on criteria established by the network that relied on recent polls.
BOSTON — As health insurers sat before state officials Monday to explain the math behind their rate increases, several pointed to an Affordable Care Act program and pharmaceutical spending — including six-figure price tags for annual supplies of some specialty drugs — as major cost drivers.
The Division of Insurance called on Massachusetts insurance carriers Monday to present the data and assumptions used in determining their proposed rate filings for small group plans in the second quarter of 2016. Insurers identified a variety of factors behind rate increases, but drug spending and the Affordable Care Act's risk adjustment provision arose as common themes in testimony.
