WASHINGTON — Barbara Weigand could not have prepared more for retirement. She stayed healthy and saved diligently for years.
This year, though, a shoulder surgery and a bladder cancer diagnosis have really tested her finances. She recently withdrew $4,000 from her retirement account to cover medical expenses associated with her cancer treatment.
“On my monthly income, I would not be able to afford my new medical expenses,” says Weigand, 83, who lives in North Canton, Ohio. She is currently on a Medicare Advantage plan and was searching for new coverage as Medicare’s open enrollment period began in October.
For older adults in the United States, the rising cost of healthcare is hitting where it hurts most — their pocketbooks. With Medicare costs, prescription drug prices and long-term care expenses weighing on household budgets, their concerns could carry significant political weight heading into Tuesday’s elections.
Weigand is part of a reliable voting bloc; 83% of voters over age 50 say they’re extremely motivated to vote in the midterms, according to an AARP poll conducted in early October. Their concerns over managing healthcare costs put the issue of affordability squarely in the spotlight.
Here are some of their biggest healthcare concerns — and how Weigand sees them.
Changes to Medicare plans
Open enrollment for Medicare plans began in mid-October, and enrollees are facing a slew of changes that will go into effect in 2027.
During the enrollment period, people are considering higher Part D out-of-pocket caps, the end of temporary federal Part D premium subsidies, and new drug price negotiations. Additionally, in some states, insurers put caps on the number of people who can enroll in Advantage plans, pulling out of markets or eliminating plans that people have come to rely on.
Juliette Cubanski, director of KFF’s program on Medicare policy, told the Associated Press that the open enrollment period offers enrollees “an opportunity to evaluate the coverage they have and see if there might be better options for them in terms of accessing the care that they need, at possibly a lower cost.”
Although Weigand is grateful to have the mental acuity to do the research and the spiritual community that she relies on, she worries about other older people who are struggling to plan for the year ahead. “There are so many changes, and a lot of people my age who don’t know where to start,” she says. “What do they do?”
The affordability of prescription drugs
The Trump administration says it has made a priority of lowering drug prices in its effort to show that it is addressing soaring costs. President Trump has struck multiple most-favored-nation drug deals with pharmaceutical companies and has launched the discount drug website TrumpRx, among other steps.
In September, his administration said all 50 states would join in on a program set to provide most-favored-nation pricing to some drugs within the Medicaid program, bringing the net price of selected drugs down to prices paid in certain other countries.
Still, the cost of prescription drugs prevents some people from filling prescriptions. A KFF survey from March found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they have not taken their medication as prescribed in the last year due to costs.
Weigand is considering rationing her drugs to save money. “I’ve been thinking — if I could just do this every other day rather than every day to make the medicine last longer,” she says. “Isn’t that sad?“
The KFF report says about 1 in 5 people surveyed had cut pills in half or skipped doses of medicine in the prior year because of the cost.
The costs of long-term support
The costs of receiving long-term care — whether from spouses, home-care aides or friends — have risen steeply for retirees.
An AARP report released Wednesday that examines out-of-pocket caregiving expenses finds that family caregivers are spending nearly 60% more supporting a family member or friend than five years ago. They spend an average of $11,508 a year supporting a family member or friend, compared with $7,242 in 2021, according to the report.
Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s executive vice president and chief advocacy officer, said “we’re already hearing from our members about healthcare affordability — its prescription drug costs, caregiver costs, copays, premiums,” she said. “Not only are we trying to help family caregivers with their finances, but also to get them the kind of information they need to help their loved ones.”
These worries are top of mind for older people. About one-third of Americans over 50 provide regular care to an adult relative or friend with a health issue or disability, according to a national poll on healthy aging conducted in September 2025 by the University of Michigan.
The solvency of Social Security
The Social Security Administration announced last month that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities will rise by 3.6% beginning in 2027. That translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income.
The agency faces an approaching bankruptcy date if a funding shortfall is not addressed by Congress.
The Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report from June states that Social Security’s combined trust funds, which cover old age and disability recipients, will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.
With 2034 not far away, the upcoming Congress will be faced with determining how to shore up the program.
Matt Hogan, a partner at the polling firm Impact Research, has this advice to candidates in the closing days of the midterm campaign: “Regardless of party, to make inroads with these voters, Social Security and Medicare should definitely be part of their messaging.”
Thousands have protested across Italy against rising living costs and increased military spending, demanding greater investment in healthcare and education. Demonstrations spread to 50 cities, with clashes reported between protesters and police.
Xabi Alonso’s side would be in the EFL Cup quarter-finals had he scored, but they crashed out as defender Wesley Fofana sent one in sudden death high into the Kop at Anfield.
Both were shown how to do it by Liverpool defender Joe Gomez – a player who has never scored a senior goal in 319 professional appearances – who rifled the winning penalty into the top corner after a simple run-up.
Players opt for the stutter in a bid to trick the goalkeeper into giving them a clue as to which way they will dive.
The problem is it can backfire spectacularly if the goalkeeper holds their nerve or – in Barco’s case – the taker fails to hit the target.
Former Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta told ITV: “Every player picks his style where he feels confident, and for Valentin Barco, I believe that is his way of shooting it. I don’t believe that was his first time, I hope not!”
The ‘stutter’ penalty became a theme of this year’s World Cup. There were 26 at the summer’s tournament but 11 were missed.
The stop-start run-up technique does not have a strict definition but a player is allowed, under Fifa rules, to stop or feint in the run-up as long as they don’t do it directly before kicking the ball.
Even Harry Kane tried it in the summer and missed. His stuttering run-up led to Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saving his penalty in England’s 4-2 win.
But because Livakovic came off his line early, Kane got a retake and smashed it home with a straightforward approach.
Arsenal and Brazil midfielder Guimaraes was one of those 11 to miss at the World Cup but did not change his approach at Fleetwood.
Some players have used it to their advantage. Brazil icon Pele was famous for it while Cristiano Ronaldo has used it with both success and failure.
“I wouldn’t allow it if I was a manager,” former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told TalkSport on Wednesday after Arsenal‘s defeat the night before.
“It is ridiculous, self-indulgence, a player trying to be the centre of attention.
“When they do the stutter they think the keeper might go, but they aren’t going that early, they aren’t being tricked any more. It is naive.”
But former Liverpool and Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson had a different view and pointed to the fact that Barco missed by mere inches.
“I like the technique,” he told ITV. “It gives the players a bit of time.
“W what confused me about that one [from Barco] is usually players are watching the keeper. He has moved, he has got it right and gone the right way but lifted it in the air for no reason.
“You have the whole goal to shoot at and that is the surprising part. He has already beaten the goalkeeper, he doesn’t have to hit it into the top corner.
“If he puts that ball three inches to the right you would say it is the best penalty you have seen.”
Hundreds of Indonesian students and civil society groups protested in the capital, Jakarta, and other cities against President Prabowo Subianto’s policies, including the handling of ongoing forest fires and government spending priorities.
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — A U.S. cruise ship on an around-the-world voyage that touted its cabins as floating homes suspended its three-year voyage in Cambodia due to fuel costs, forcing hundreds of passengers to disembark.
The MV Odyssey set sail two years ago on a voyage to the seven continents marketed as combining long-term living at sea with global travel. Its operator had offered to “make the Odyssey your permanent home,” with the purchase price of a suite for the lifetime of the vessel starting around $230,000.
For now, it is docked at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand, with no certain departure date.
The ship has been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, along with 156 crew members, according to Cambodian officials. It has a 650-passenger capacity.
Its Florida-based operator, Villa Vie Residences, said monthly fuel expenses per cabin that historically averaged $1,800 have reached an estimated $6,000 to $8,000 in parts of Asia due to the war in Iran. The company said it sought to reduce fuel consumption by slowing the itinerary and spending more time in port, but was unable to offset the surging costs.
Traffic has been curtailed in the Strait of Hormuz since the war in Iran began, squeezing supplies of all kinds of petroleum-based fuels, especially in Southeast Asia, and sharply increasing prices.
“We have been unable to continue carrying the resulting operating losses,” Villa Vie Residences said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Passing the full increase on to residents is not a realistic solution. Our focus now is on supporting residents, crew, and employees” while it tries to restructure.
“The company is working with residents to coordinate disembarkation and identify temporary living arrangements,” it said.
Those on the ship had hoped to sail for years to come
Passengers, however, said they received no support and had to make their own arrangements after being given seven hours notice on Tuesday to disembark. Some were devastated and expressed hope a new company could rescue the venture so life at sea can continue.
Paul and Lynn Montoya, a retired couple from Wyoming, said they bought a window cabin and had expected to sail for years. They boarded the ship 17 months ago in Panama.
Paul praised the concept of residential cruising but said the shipowner lacked the expertise to make the business financially sustainable. While rising fuel costs had been cited publicly as the reason for the suspension, he said the company had already been struggling. Changes to itinerary, unreliable internet access and declining food quality had pushed many residents to leave the ship in recent months, he said.
Lynn said residents were repeatedly asked to contribute additional money for fuel and other expenses, including a fresh call to raise funds for fuel to get out of Cambodia. She said the crew members were also not paid.
“We were tired of every two to four weeks being asked for money for fuel, money for everything,” she said. “We had hopes but they just kept sinking further and further into the hole through mismanagement.”
The company could not immediately be contacted for comment.
For some, the venture was a risk worth taking
Yet for some, even the financial and logistical turmoil couldn’t outweigh the extraordinary experience of traveling the world and living at sea.
Carol Larson, 69, and her sister Crystal Lavering, 72, occupied separate cabins aboard the ship for 18 months. The siblings, from California, described the suspension as heartbreaking, and hoped the cruise would be resuscitated.
“I hope there is a movement for the residents to buy the ship and I am hoping that goes through because it’s a dream to live on the ship and I don’t want it to end,” Larson said.
Lavering said her health improved during her time on the ship, and that she didn’t need to use a cane to walk anymore. “You come to this ship to live … it’s just sad that it’s all over.”
Larson bought her cabin for $120,000, paid in installments, in addition to monthly maintenance fees, under a plan that had promised the possibility of living aboard for up to 15 years. She said she blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for the ship’s woes as fuel costs spiked due to the Iran war, in addition to poor management. But she said she didn’t regret her investment.
“Because it was a startup company, I believe that it was a risk. From the very first day, I said to myself that if it lasts a year, I can walk away and feel like I got my money’s worth … I still feel that way. I feel blessed to have been part of the experiment of residential cruising,” she said.
The cruise began in Northern Ireland in 2024
The ship arrived in Sihanoukville last Friday and was scheduled to depart Wednesday, according to a statement from Long Dimanche, the deputy governor of Preah Sihanouk province. He said it was now expected to refuel and depart Cambodia on Saturday, but the ship’s operator has not yet publicly confirmed any date.
Built in 1993 and operated under different names by several cruise lines over the years before being becalmed by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Odyssey was bought by Villa Vie Residences in 2023.
Its current cruise, originally intended to last 3 1/2 years, began in October 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the ship had been refitted. A second cruise had been tentatively scheduled to end in August 2030.
The Odyssey is not the first cruise ship Sihanoukville has hosted in crisis.
In February 2020, the MS Westerdam was allowed to dock in Cambodia after being turned away at five ports in other nations because of fears of COVID-19, which just a month earlier had started to spread from China. It carried 1,455 passengers, more than 600 of them American citizens.
After being stranded at sea for two weeks, Cambodia’s then-Prime Minister Hun Sen allowed it to dock for what he said were humanitarian reasons. Cambodia won plaudits as passengers were welcomed ashore and arrangements were made for them to fly home.
Cheang writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.
On television, ads for UCLA Health show up behind the Dodgers’ home plate and in the background when Justin Herbert, the Chargers’ quarterback, speaks after a game.
At the Lakers’ training facility, the health system’s logo appears on the court and throughout the building, under a marketing partnership that cost the university tens of millions of dollars.
The ads are part of the public university health system’s strategy to increase the number of Southern Californians using its providers at its fast-growing number of clinics and hospitals.
University officials say its expansion to five hospitals and 300 clinics — up from 150 locations a decade ago — has given more Southern Californians access to its academic medicine.
Lakers championship banners hang from the rafters and trophies are on display in an office overlooking the news conference as Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, left, speaks while Lakers coach JJ Redick listens at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Last year, the system’s clinics and hospitals recorded 4.2 million outpatient visits — more than five times the number in 2015.
“As a public institution, we’re trying to make sure that patients within our community have access to care,” said Dr. Robert Cherry, UCLA Health’s chief medical and quality officer. “That’s the primary and overriding concern, because there’s an acute demand for our services.”
Yet healthcare economists point to repeated studies showing that hospital consolidation — where health systems expand, take over competitors and hire more of a region’s physicians — has become a leading driver of escalating health costs and insurance premiums, while doing little to raise the quality of care.
Glenn Melnick, a USC professor of healthcare finance, has documented how hospital consolidation in Northern California caused health costs to escalate. He said the mergers and acquisitions have continued, including with UCLA Health and other hospital systems in Southern California. UCI Health acquired four community hospitals in 2024.
One consequence, Melnick said, is surging insurance premiums for employers, which leave companies with little money for wage increases, while employees end up paying more for their health insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs.
“We’re now, I think, at a breaking point,” he said.
UCLA executives said the aim of the expansion was not to increase revenues the health system receives from commercial insurers. And they say they don’t believe UCLA Health is large enough to influence health costs.
“We actually represent only a small fraction of the inpatient capacity, physicians, clinics and resources available across the large and complex healthcare market in L.A.,” said Johnese Spisso, UCLA Health’s president, in an interview.
Nonetheless, the system’s expansion and its other recent financial decisions have led to protests by some of the university’s own staff and faculty, who point out the new clinics have been added mostly in wealthier neighborhoods, including Malibu and Montecito, where the majority of families have commercial insurance.
None of its clinics are in South or East Los Angeles, where more residents are covered by Medi-Cal, the state program for low-income people.
Cameron Carr during a news conference at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.
(Arwen Clemans/Los Angeles Times)
University of California system officials say Medi-Cal’s reimbursements are so low that they don’t cover the cost of care at the state’s five UC medical centers. Those losses, they say, must be covered by charges to those with commercial insurance.
Last month, dozens of medical residents and interns protested outside a UC Regents board meeting after UCLA Health failed to renew a Medi-Cal contract that had covered thousands of low-income patients. The doctors waved signs with slogans “Corporate Greed” and “Keep UCLA Health public.”
Dr. David Schriger, UCLA professor emeritus of emergency medicine, said that given the mission of the state’s public university, he questioned why the expansion had not included neighborhoods such as South Central L.A.
“The public should be making these decisions,” Schriger said. “It should not be at the whim of some executives.”
Santiago Munoz, UCLA Health’s chief strategy officer, said officials don’t consider neighborhood income levels when deciding where to open clinics. Instead, he said, the system has been adding clinics along freeways running north and south.
“We’re staying close to the 405 and the 101 because driving to locations in Los Angeles is inevitable, and it’s very difficult to get to Westwood,” he said.
Munoz noted that UCLA had recently leased a 20,000-square-foot space for a clinic in Inglewood, has locations in downtown Los Angeles, and provides physician services at two of L.A. County’s public hospitals.
“We are trying to go to where patients are,” Munoz said.
Worries about crowding
Nurses at the university’s flagship hospital Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood say the expansion has created crowding that has caused what they describe as an ongoing, daily crisis in the emergency room.
Patients coming from the 300 clinics for hip replacements, heart surgeries and other procedures at Ronald Reagan often wait one or two days in the emergency department until beds become available upstairs in the hospital, according to UCLA officials.
To accommodate those patients who’ve been admitted but don’t have a room, the hospital has installed dozens of beds in what was once the emergency department’s waiting room and in adjacent spaces. That has forced people waiting for emergency care into a large white tent outside, which was put up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“How do you do a good exam in a tent? It just doesn’t work,” said Dianne Sposito, a nurse who works in the emergency department. “I feel patients are in grave danger right now. Accidents are bound to happen.”
LeBron James has fun with his daughter, Zhuri, as son, Bronny, looks on during a G League game at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
A university spokesperson said the system has “extensive strategies to keep patients safe and decompress our emergency departments.”
At the September Regents committee meeting, Spisso, UCLA Health’s president, told board members that the system needs to add as many as another 400 hospital beds so that newly-admitted patients no longer have to wait.
For months, rumors have circulated that UCLA will soon buy Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, which would make the university the only hospital operator in that city. UCLA bought the city’s other hospital in 1995.
UCLA officials declined to say whether they were talking about acquiring the hospital. “We’ve found it’s best not to talk about discussions we may or may not be having unless or until we have something to announce,” Phil Hampton, a university spokesperson, said in a statement.
Consolidation hikes costs
The California Health Care Foundation found in a 2021 study that hospital markets were reaching “monopoly levels” in many of the state’s counties. The consolidation was increasing prices with “little to no improvement in quality” of care, the report said.
The study also detailed how physicians often change their referral and prescribing patterns after their practices are acquired by hospitals, sometimes requesting imaging or other procedures that are not needed.
Melnick, the USC professor, noted that when UCLA acquires physician practices and “re-designates them as hospital-outpatient departments,” the clinics can begin billing insurers for an additional “hospital facility fee” for routine office visits, imaging and minor procedures.
He added that insurers often consider UCLA as a “must-have” network, allowing it to negotiate higher reimbursement rates. When the insurer folds UCLA’s new hospitals and clinics into their plan, he said, it often agrees to raise rates at the newly-acquired providers to match what UCLA is receiving as an academic system. Patients get the same care, he said, “but there is a new name on the door.”
Munoz said that UCLA Health was adding facility fees to some bills, including for imaging, but not for physician care. “We’re running a fairly lean operation in the community when it comes to physician services and not collecting the facility fees that others are,” he said.
More income from patient charges
UCLA is not the only hospital system expanding in the L.A. region. For example, Cedars Sinai has also been adding clinics and buying hospitals.
Price data shows that insurers and patients often pay more for care at UCLA Health and Cedars.
Anthem, Southern California’s largest commercial insurer, this year is paying $20,265 to UCLA for a total knee replacement at Ronald Reagan, according to data gathered by Serif Health, a San Francisco firm that collects data from hospitals and insurers. That price is 9% higher than last year and doesn’t include physician fees, the implanted device or anesthesia.
Anthem pays Cedars more than twice as much for a knee replacement, according to Serif’s data, while it pays Providence St. John’s 22% less. Cedars’ current negotiated reimbursement is $42,559 — an increase of almost 17% over last year.
University executives said that because UCLA Health is an academic health system it provides a high volume of complex care that is more costly than care at non-academic hospitals.
UCLA’s expansion strategy has been financially successful, according to the health system’s annual report.
Last year, UCLA Health operating revenues grew by nearly 20% to more than $5 billion. After paying for expenses, its operating income was $793 million, a margin of almost 16%. That compares to the median operating margin of 1.5% for 45 academic medical centers across the country, according to a 2024 study by McKinsey & Company.
UCLA officials said the operating margin was not a good comparative measure because it doesn’t include a $496-million transfer to the university’s medical school to cover other operations including the training of physicians.
“Education, research, and clinical care are all part of our mission and our responsibilities to really train that next generation of healthcare professionals,” Spisso said.
Expansion continues
The university is now spending nearly $300 million to renovate a 170,000-square-foot building that sits on nine acres near Los Angeles International Airport. Purchased in 2024, the campus’ many offerings will include a sports medicine institute with physical therapy and advanced imaging, as well as an ambulatory surgery center with 10 operating rooms.
The university also plans to soon open a new 119-bed psychiatric hospital in L.A.’s Mid-Wilshire neighborhood. The facility was once the 204-bed Olympia Medical Center, where most patients were Black, Latino and underinsured. Olympia shut down after the university purchased it in December 2020.
The renovated hospital allows UCLA to relocate and expand the 74-bed Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, which is currently on the fourth floor of Ronald Reagan Medical Center.
“We have patients waiting for mental healthcare so we made a $650-million investment in this new facility,” Spisso said. “We will probably lose around $50 million a year just operating it, but we saw it as one of the most underserved areas.”
UCLA then plans to add 103 beds to Ronald Reagan by renovating its fourth floor, increasing the medical center’s capacity by 23% to ease the overcrowding.
In 2024, the university bought the 260-bed West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley from HCA Healthcare.
Last month, Spisso told the Regents committee that the hospital, now known as UCLA West Valley Medical Center, and its surrounding clinics, were making more money than officials had expected.
U.S. holiday airfares are heading toward their highest levels in at least a decade, according to travel-booking company Hopper, as airlines raise prices to offset escalating fuel expenses. Average domestic round-trip fares for Thanksgiving are running 31% above last year’s levels, while Christmas tickets are up
Manila, Philippines – Keith Cantera and his family have been thinking about having their own solar power grid at home for years. But spending up to $5,000 for solar panels was nothing to scoff at, so they put the idea on the back burner.
It all changed this year when the United States-Israel war on Iran rattled global energy markets and sent electricity prices soaring. From paying a monthly bill of about $150 before the war began in late February, Cantera said his family went to forking out as much as $220.
Eight months later, they are having solar panels installed on their rooftop.
“The cost is about the same as paying our electric bills for three or four years based on the current rate,” Cantera said. “But in the fifth year, we’ll have recovered our investment, and electricity will essentially be free.”
Cantera is one of a growing number of Filipino homeowners turning to solar power in a country that had Southeast Asia’s highest electricity costs even before the war. They were comparable only to Singapore, where the average income is more than 10 times higher.
A report by the energy think tank Ember estimated that rooftop panels had nearly doubled in the Philippines since early 2025.
And in the first months of the war from March to May, the rush for solar power led to $407m in panel imports, according to government trade data from China, where most panels are manufactured. The Philippines became the biggest single overseas market for that period. Only the Netherlands bought more, but it redistributes them to the rest of Europe.
Lexus Grepo, CEO of the solar power supplier Solarmaxx, can attest to the boom.
“There is a 30-day wait because solar panel shipments can’t keep up,” Grepo said. “In March, we had 40 projects, which was almost triple our monthly clientele. Since then, we have been setting up 25 to 30 systems a month.”
Grepo does not expect demand to slow down even if tensions in the Middle East ease and shipping routes for energy supplies reopen.
“I think people now realise that the world is an unpredictable place, so they have to be ready for any eventuality. Filipinos now see that they don’t necessarily have to be at the mercy of the global energy market.”
The Philippines, one of the few countries in the region where electricity is not subsidised, relies on imported coal and gas for more than 70 percent of its power mix. The value of its currency, the peso, which has slid to a record low of more than 63 to the US dollar, is making these imports even costlier.
In late March, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a national energy emergency in response to the war and what he described as the “imminent danger” posed to the national energy supply. Still, electricity rates have continued to increase.
The shift to solar is also partly driven by anger at electric companies that have come under scrutiny for charging customers for so-called system losses, which include illegal connections.
Cantera said learning about having to pay for someone else’s electricity consumption was the last straw.
“Who would agree to paying for something that you did not use? It’s not like the money we spend for electricity just fell from heaven,” he added.
But while the soaring demand is real, the upfront cost of a solar power system is still too high for most Filipinos. The government in March launched a new initiative offering loans for residential rooftop installations, but these are available only to public sector workers.
What officials hope can bring power rates down for the majority of people are the dozens of renewable energy projects in the pipeline, including a 3,500-hectare (8,650-acre) solar farm north of the capital, Manila, that is projected to be the largest in the world. When fully operational, the project is expected to generate 850 megawatts of electricity for 2.4 million households.
But some consumers said such projects could take years to complete, leaving them with ballooning electricity bills unless they take action themselves.
“It’s just so unpredictable nowadays. You have the impending El Nino weather pattern. There’s still war, the continuing fuel price hikes and so much more,” Cantera said. “So why not utilise a natural resource?”
A NEW Spanish tourist tax being introduced this year is set to cause a hike in holiday costs.
The rule, which will be rolled out from the start of December, could see some holidaymakers slapped with an extra fee.
A new tax rule is being introduced in Spain and it’s set to impact touristsCredit: GettyCertain holiday rentals will now be subject to a 10 per cent VAT chargeCredit: SWNS
Tourists visiting Spain and the Canary Islands after December 1st, 2026, may have to pay an extra new charge if they opt for self-catering accommodation.
Those staying in apartments or villas booked via the likes of Airbnb could end up shelling out for an additional 10 per cent in VAT.
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The tax, brought in by the Spanish Government, applies to qualifying furnished holiday rentals in popular travel destinations such as Ibiza, Mallorca, Barcelona and the Canary Islands.
Tourist accommodation in Spain has previously been exempt from VAT payments.
Any holiday home rented for 30 nights or fewer will be subject to the tax – unless the property is the landlord’s habitual home.
The government says that the VAT measure is being brought in to help combat the housing pressures faced by Spanish residents.
The Spanish property market is currently under strain due to the high amounts of apartments and houses being bought for short-term tourist use.
The new tax may not necessarily mean that tourists are forced to pay, though as it depends if the landlord of the holiday home decides to pay the additional VAT themselves.
Tourists are being urged to double check the price of bookings made for rental holiday homes before they pay.
Those booking accommodation that could be subject to the new tax should look carefully at the price breakdown of bookings
It is wise to check whether any additional VAT is included in the cost or whether paying it on top of the original booking will be a requirement.
Sanaa, Aden and Marib, Yemen – As fighting intensifies across Yemen between the government and the Houthis, millions of people are confronting another battle far from the front lines: the deteriorating living and economic conditions in the country.
With salaries for large segments of the workforce either unpaid or irregularly disbursed – and the prices of goods and services rising – Yemen’s economic struggles have been compounded by a divided banking system that has made moving money between different parts of the country increasingly complicated.
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From Aden’s struggling shoppers to displaced families in Marib and unpaid public-sector workers in Sanaa, Yemenis are being forced to make difficult choices about what they can afford, and what they must go without.
Aden: Food costs swallow salaries
In Aden, the internationally recognised Yemeni government’s interim capital in the south, the problem is not so much a shortage of goods in markets as people’s inability to afford them.
Salaries have failed to keep pace with the rising costs of food, rent, healthcare and transport, leaving workers with little money left over at the end of the month.
The consequences are evident in the smaller quantities and cheaper products that now make up shoppers’ baskets, and the decisions they are forced to make about what to cut back on.
Bushra Abdullah Abdulwarith is a government employee in Aden. She earns 78,000 Yemeni riyals ($50) a month at the black market exchange rate while typical household food costs in government-held areas run about 130,366 riyals ($83), according to estimates by the Yemen Economic Tracking Initiative. And that’s before she factors in the cost of rent, transport, healthcare and other household expenses.
The economic difficulties facing Yemenis like Bushra illustrate how more than a decade of war has devastated the economy. According to the World Bank, real GDP per capita has fallen by approximately 58 percent since 2015.
The fragmentation of Yemen’s monetary institutions between the government and the Houthis – who have operated their own institutions since seizing the capital, Sanaa, in 2014 – along with the disruption of oil exports, and declining international assistance have all contributed to the economic decline.
Bushra told Al Jazeera that rising prices have forced many households to give up almost all non-essential purchases and cut back on some expensive basics, particularly meat. Other families, she said, have resorted to buying food in smaller quantities, sometimes on credit or loans.
Reduced demand
The impact of rising prices is reflected not only in economic figures but also in the way people shop.
Ayman al-Maqtari, who works at a shopping centre in Aden’s Mansoura district, said that his customers now rarely buy non-essential items.
When it comes to the essentials such as rice, sugar, flour, and cooking oil, he has noticed that customers size up the price of each item before putting it in their baskets. They are also buying smaller quantities, for example, opting for a 5kg (11 pound) over a 40kg (90 pound) bag of rice.
“Many people have come to live day by day, or week by week,” Ayman told Al Jazeera, adding that more families are buying on credit when they run out of money before the end of the month.
The decline in purchasing power is also affecting commercial activity.
Across several streets and shopping centres in Aden, advertisements for discounts and special offers have become increasingly visible in shop windows and on retailers’ social media pages, as businesses attempt to attract customers and boost sales.
Weak demand, retailers say, is particularly evident for items that households can put off buying, such as clothing and household goods. A growing share of family income is spent on food, rent, healthcare and transport.
Limited pay increase
The Yemeni government approved a 20 percent cost-of-living allowance in May for public-sector employees in an attempt to ease the pressure of rising prices. But the amount is calculated based on each employee’s base salary, rather than their total pay, meaning the actual increase is relatively small for many workers.
Bushra, the government employee in Aden, said the increase has done little to improve her family’s financial circumstances. She described the allowance as “a temporary painkiller that does not reflect the scale of the actual pressure on people’s living standards”.
Her experience is far from isolated. In early October, the World Food Programme said its latest monitoring in accessible government-controlled areas showed that 74 percent of households were unable to meet their basic food needs.
One of the places where the crisis is evident is Marib, a government-controlled city east of Sanaa that is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. The sharp increase in the population over the war years, in what was previously a provincial backwater, has led to pressure on the city’s housing, employment and public services.
Government employees in Marib see their salaries disappear within the first few days after being paid, labourers struggle to find more than a few days of work and displaced families are forced to choose between buying water and milk.
Salah al-Zuhaifi works for a government institution in Marib. He said the war has separated him from his parents, who live in Houthi-controlled territory.
Alone in Marib, al-Zuhaifi said that inflation had eroded much of his salary’s purchasing power.
“No matter how much you earn, it will not be enough to meet your needs,” he said.
Abu Mohammed Nasser al-Asbahi, another government employee, described a similar struggle.
He told Al Jazeera that he earns 400,000 riyals ($250) a month, but more than half of that goes towards his rent, leaving little for his other expenses.
“We don’t even get to the first one-third of the month before the salary is gone,” he said, explaining that his family spends the rest of the month relying on loans and credit from local shops.
The healthcare sector in Marib has also been affected by widespread household spending cuts.
Pharmacist Khaled Mohsen told Al Jazeera that the rising price of medicines has prompted many patients to decline parts of their prescribed treatment and purchase only what they consider most essential.
People with chronic illnesses, meanwhile, have increasingly begun reducing their medication doses to make their supplies last longer before having to buy more, which creates serious health risks.
Houthi areas
Residents of Sanaa and other areas of Yemen’s populous northwest, controlled by the Houthis – an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God) – since 2014, are also facing a worsening economic and cost-of-living crisis similar to that affecting Yemenis elsewhere in the country.
Several factors are driving the crisis, particularly unpaid public-sector salaries, declining purchasing power, rising prices for goods and services, and the continuing consequences of the division of Yemen’s currency and banking systems in the early years of the war.
Many public-sector employees in Houthi-controlled areas have gone years without receiving regular salaries, with some sectors only receiving limited payments or half-salaries at irregular intervals.
Even when payments are made, they cannot cover families’ basic needs amid the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile, private-sector workers and business owners face growing pressures as a result of declining economic activity, multiple fees and levies, and a shortage of employment opportunities. The conditions have undermined incomes and job security.
The Yemeni riyal’s exchange rate in Houthi-controlled Sanaa is more stable than in areas controlled by the government. The Houthis have imposed strict monetary controls, banning the circulation of newer banknotes printed by the Yemeni government, and have also enforced a largely fixed exchange rate.
However, that does not necessarily translate into stronger purchasing power. Markets face difficulties caused by cash shortages and the division between monetary and banking systems operating in different parts of the country, including increased costs for moving funds.
That directly affects the many households relying on domestic and international remittances.
For residents in Houthi-controlled areas, the result is an economy in which the currency may be relatively stable, but livelihoods are precarious. Years of unpaid salaries and limited employment opportunities have left many families struggling to afford basic necessities, with few options beyond borrowing, cutting spending or relying on support from relatives.
Ski holidays have gathered a reputation for being some of the most expensive getaways, but how much will a weekend on the slopes really set you back? Oliver Radcliffe went to find out
The truth about how much a ski holiday can really cost – is it just for the elites?
Ski holidays have a reputation for being on the pricey side. The very pricey side. Holidays to the Alps are increasingly thought of as a reserve for only the richest, as the Mirror’s trip to Megeve last year highlighted. But it doesn’t have to be. A day on the slopes in Austria’s Gastein Valley might not be as expensive as those new to the mountainside life may think (although it’s certainly all relative).
Spread across the trio of resorts of Bad Gastein, Bad Hofgastein, and Dorfgastein, the valley forms part of the region of SalzburgerLand, one of the lesser-known alpine destinations. Yet compared with some of Europe’s biggest-name resorts, the cost of skiing here remains reasonable.
While a local dry slope can offer a cost-effective start for beginners, nothing beats real snow for the authentic experience. A trip to the Angertal ski school could be the perfect place to build your skills and get you able to take on the slopes.
One really handy feature of the region is its Guest Mobility Ticket, which provides free public transport throughout the entire region.
So what does a realistic day on the mountains actually cost?
Do you have a travel story to tell? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
The lift pass
The biggest hidden expense for any skier is the lift pass. This is your ticket to the mountain’s ski lifts and gondolas, which transport you to the top of the slopes so you can ski down. Without a valid pass, you won’t be able to ride the lifts. Passes can range from single-day tickets to multi-day, weekly, or even season-long access, with prices varying widely.
In the Gastein ski area, a one-day adult ticket costs €69.50 (~£59). A six-day pass costs €344.50 (~£293), which works out at around €57.40 (~£49) per day, so staying for a few days noticeably reduces the daily cost.
The pass gives access to the main Schlossalm–Stubnerkogel ski area linking Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein, as well as the higher-altitude Sportgastein sector.
Ski hire
If you’re not travelling with your own equipment, rental is the next major cost. At the Angertal Skizentrum in Bad Hofgastein, a day’s rental starts from around €26 (£22) for skis and poles and €14 (£12) for boots.
For weekly rentals, expect to spend around €129 (£110) for skis and €65 (£55) for boots. Snowboard rental is priced similarly.
Ski lessons
For beginners, learning can also be the most expensive part. A three-day beginner’s course can set you back around €294 (£250), including 12 hours of lessons with a dedicated instructor.
Lunch on the mountain
Food prices in the mountains are slightly higher than at your local spot, but Austrian mountain huts are usually gentler on the wallet than some French mega-resorts.
A typical slope-side lunch might include €10–€15 (£8.50–£13) for dishes such as goulash soup or Tiroler gröstl, another €6 (£5) for a drink or coffee, and another €7 (£6) for a slice of strudel. Kaiserschmarrn, the sweetened shredded pancake, costs a little more at around €15 (£13)but it will keep you full well into the evening.
Altogether, €15–€25 (£13–£21) is a realistic spend for lunch and an espresso on the mountain.
One recommendation after a day on the slopes of Bad Hofgastein is the brand new Hirsch und Maus, perched at the mountain peak. A traditional Wiener Schnitzel costs the equivalent of €21 (£18). For those fed up with beige carbs, a Caesar salad is around €19 (£16).
Après ski
Après ski is a key part of the skiing experience, but it can be expensive. After a day on the nursery slopes, a half litre of the local Salzburg brew, Stiegl, costs the equivalent of €6 (£5.30) at the trendy Angertal 1180.
That overall figure can drop if you book lift tickets early, bring your own gear, or choose shorter passes such as half-day tickets. Skiing will never be a budget activity, but not every resort caters only to those on six figures, where single-day lift passes often exceed €80–€90 (~£68–£77).
After the lifts close, many skiers swap their boots for bathrobes and head to the valley’s famous thermal spas, soaking tired legs in steaming mineral waters surrounded by snow.
Accommodation
A classic double room at Hotel Zum Stern costs €294 (~£250) per room per night. Shared between two people, that’s about €147 (~£125) each per night.
Five-day holiday estimate (per person)
Based on the assumption that you’d buy a lift pass for each of the five days of a five-day ski holiday, hire skis and boots for the week, and each day have a mountain lunch, a Schnitzel-style dinner, and one beer Apres ski, this is how much you could expect to spend.
Lift pass, 5 days: €66–78.50 a day, €330–392 (£280–335) a week
Ski and boot hire, weekly: €194 (£165)
Lunch, 5 days: €15–25/day, €75–125 (£65–105) a week
Dinner, 5 days: £16–18/day, €94–106 (£80–90) a week
One beer a day, 5 days: €31 (£26.50)
Accommodation, 5 nights: €1,470 per room, halved to €735 (£625)
Protesting students demand accessible education in French-speaking areas of the country.
Published On 7 Oct 20267 Oct 2026
Police in Belgium have detained more than 100 people after demonstrations in the city of Liege against the rising cost of education turned violent in some places, as similar protests grip neighbouring France.
Students rallied in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday against overcrowded classrooms and difficulty accessing resources in Belgium’s French-language education system.
Eighty people were detained during the protests, and 27 were formally arrested, the Belga news agency reported, citing the Liege police.
Some protesters damaged property and set fires, the police added.
Attendees insisted that shortcomings in the education system gave them no choice but to take to the streets.
“When we saw nothing was changing without protests, we decided we would start,” said Amelia Di Salve, a 19-year-old studying to become a teacher, who added that protests in “France did influence us a little”.
“We support each other because we’re facing pretty much the same issues,” Alfred, another 19-year-old student, told the Reuters news agency.
‘Peaceful way’
Authorities were attempting to defuse tensions and head off further unrest.
“Dialogue can be established,” Willy Demeyer, the mayor of the city of Liege, told Belgian broadcaster RTBF, adding that he hoped “young people can express their grievances in a peaceful way and if possible have those concerns heard”.
Demonstrators smash a shop window during a protest by high school students against education reforms and increased student fees in Liege, Belgium, on October 7, 2026 [Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters]
In Belgium, education is managed independently by the country’s linguistic communities, and there is no single national curriculum.
Instead, the Flemish population regulates education in Belgium’s Dutch-speaking Flanders region while French-speaking Wallonia oversees its own curriculum.
Parents can decide where to enrol children in the bilingual capital Brussels.
The protests in Liege follow sporadic violent demonstrations over the summer in Brussels against an increase in tuition fees for students in French-speaking areas from 835 euros ($930) to 1,194 euros ($1,340).
Belgium’s education budget has been under pressure as a result of a cost-of-living crisis and the spiralling cost of energy, issues that are helping fuel student protests in France as well.
The impact of the US-Israel war with Iran is one of the factors behind the increase.
The letter from the EA to head teachers said that “recent geopolitical events are expected to have a substantial impact on energy costs across the Education Authority (EA) during the 2026/27 financial year”.
It said that total school gas bills were expected to go up by 60% from £10.7m to £17m by March 2027.
Meanwhile, total school electricity bills are expected to rise by 5% from £23.8m to £25.1m by March 2027.
“Given the scale of the anticipated cost increases, we are asking all schools to review their energy usage and identify opportunities to reduce consumption wherever possible,” the EA said.
Among the measures the authority has suggested to schools are cutting heating use by an hour a day and switching off classroom lights to use natural daylight instead.
Staff and pupils have also been advised to “wear more clothes” rather than turn the heating thermostat up if it is cold.
But principals have told BBC News NI that it is not straightforward for schools to cut heating costs.
The principal of Tullygally Primary School in Craigavon, Kirsty Logan-Hall, said that the school was “committed to promoting responsible energy consumption and regularly reinforce good practice with staff and pupils”.
“However, our ability to achieve significant reductions in energy usage is constrained by the nature of our estate,” she said.
“The school operates from an older building which presents inherent energy efficiency challenges.
“In addition, our site is particularly spread out due to the accommodation and operational requirements associated with our specialist provision.
“This necessitates the heating, lighting and ongoing use of multiple areas across the site throughout the school day to ensure appropriate learning environments, accessibility and pupil welfare.
“It is important to recognise that there is limited scope for reducing energy consumption without adversely impacting the quality of provision, staff working conditions or the wellbeing of pupils, including those with additional needs.”
Emma Quinn from Rathcoole Primary told BBC Good Morning Ulster that the “lack of maintenance” has an impact on schools, adding that pupils have a right to come into a warm school after being outside.
“Putting this pressure onto us at the minute is ridiculous, when we are eco schools, we are doing all of these, we are turning off lights, but yet this lands in on our doorstep and we’re suddenly expected to jump and to fix a problem that is so systemic, it’s just not good enough.”
HHS has finalized an update to Transparency in Coverage (“TiC”) rules intended to help health plan enrollees better understand how much they will pay before receiving care.
The new rules provide more context about in-network prices, boost out-of-network pricing information, and improve
