insurance

England’s Justin Rose shot a seven-under-par 65 to extend his lead to four shots at the Farmers Insurance Open while returning Brooks Koepka made the cut in San Diego.

The 45-year-old, who leads Ireland’s Seamus Power, sits on 17 under after breaking his own 36-hole record at the tournament.

Rose shot the round of the day on Friday at the more challenging South Course with an eagle, six birdies and just one bogey.

“I feel like in my career I’ve won on tough golf courses generally, so that’s my M.O., I would say,” said 2025 Masters runner-up Rose, who led by a shot after an opening-round 62.

“It’s the kind of a place I enjoy. It’s one of my favourite tournaments on Tour, just the whole area, the whole atmosphere, the whole vibe.”

Meanwhile, Koepka continued his return to the PGA Tour with a second-round 68 to make the cut on three under.

Five-time major winner Koepka, who agreed a release from his LIV Golf contract at the end of 2025, struggled on the South Course on Thursday, shooting a round of 73.

But on the North Course he found his form in his first PGA Tour event in four years, sinking an eagle putt on the 17th.

“I think [Thursday] I was excited to play, nervous, and kind of didn’t know what to expect, but today felt more normal, I guess,” Koepka said.

“But yeah, I mean, don’t get me wrong, I definitely still got antsy, but I guess maybe a little bit of nerves, just trying to figure it out and test – see where my game’s at too, right? I feel like I’m playing really well. It’s just been a long layoff.”

Xander Schauffele’s streak of making consecutive cuts – the longest active on tour at 72 – came to an end, while Patrick Cantlay, Gary Woodland, Will Zalatoris, JJ Spaun, Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg also all missed the cut.

Miguel Rojas is the latest Dodger to withdraw from consideration for the World Baseball Classic, joining Teoscar Hernández, Andy Pages, Andy Ibáñez and perhaps other players. MLB Network will reveal all 20 team rosters Thursday at 4 p.m. PT.

Rojas, who turns 37 next month, will not represent his native Venezuela because of difficulty obtaining insurance. The versatile World Series star expressed regret that he cannot play in an Instagram story that included a photo of himself with the Venezuelan flag draped over his shoulders.

“Today I am very sad,” he wrote in Spanish. “A real pity to not be able to represent my country and wear that flag on my chest. On this occasion, age wasn’t just a number.”

Insurance was required to guarantee his $5.5-million salary in case he missed Dodgers games because of injuries incurred during the WBC, which will take place March 5-17 in Tokyo, Miami, Houston and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Rojas’ situation is similar to that of Clayton Kershaw ahead of the 2023 WBC. The pitcher was disappointed that he couldn’t play for Team USA because his injury history made obtaining insurance impossible. The Dodgers declined to waive his insurance requirement and assume financial risk in case Kershaw got hurt during the tournament.

“I’m frustrated,” Kershaw said at the time. “They should make it easy for guys that want to play to play.”

Insurance coverage protects teams from having to pay a player for time missed because of an injury stemming from the WBC, which requires participants to undergo entrance and exit physicals to document injury information.

Players can be deemed uninsurable for several reasons, a source told The Times in 2023. Included are players who finished the previous season on the injured list or spent considerable time on the injured list. Also uninsurable are players diagnosed with a “chronic condition.”

Rojas, who has said this will be his last major league season as a player, has sustained a succession of lower-body injuries in recent years. The 12-year veteran utility infielder began his career with the Dodgers in 2014 then played for the Miami Marlins for eight years before rejoining the Dodgers in 2023.

He will always be remembered by Dodgers fans for his game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The baseball Rojas struck sold for $156,000 at auction.

This will mark the second WBC in a row that Rojas has missed. He was on Venezuela’s 2023 roster but withdrew after fellow infielder Gavin Lux tore his ACL during spring training, increasing Rojas’ role with the Dodgers.

Hernández has elected not to play for the Dominican Republic while Pages and Ibáñez — who signed a one-year, $1.2-million contract with the Dodgers this offseason — won’t suit up for Cuba. It is unclear whether insurance concerns were factors in their decisions.

However, Houston Astros stars Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa were forced to withdraw because of their inability to obtain insurance. Altuve would have played for Venezuela and Correa for Puerto Rico.

Dodgers who plan to play in the WBC include World Series heroes Will Smith of Team USA and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto of Team Japan. Shohei Ohtani announced in November that he would play for Japan, although the two-way superstar has not decided whether he will pitch.

Smith will be a teammate of Kershaw, who because he retired from the Dodgers doesn’t need insurance now to participate in the WBC. In fact, he’s gone from needing insurance to being insurance.

“I just want to be the insurance policy,” Kershaw told MLB Network. “If anybody needs a breather, or if they need me to pitch back-to-back-to-back, or if they don’t need me to pitch at all, I’m just there to be there. I just want to be a part of this group.

“I learned a long time ago, you just want to be a part of great things.”

Thousands of middle-class Californians who depend on the state-run health insurance marketplace face premiums that are thousands of dollars higher than last year because enhanced federal subsidies that began during the COVID-19 pandemic have expired.

Despite fears that more people would go without coverage with the end of the extra benefits, the number enrolling in Covered California has held steady so far, according to state data.

But that may change.

Jessica Altman, executive director of Covered California, said that she believes the number of people dropping their coverage could increase as they receive bills with their new higher premiums in the mail this month. She said better data on enrollment will be available in the spring.

Altman said that even though the extra benefits ended Dec. 31, 92% of enrollees continue to receive government subsidies to help pay for their health insurance. Nearly half qualify for health insurance that costs $10 or less per month. And 17% of Californians renewing their Covered California policies will pay nothing for premiums if they keep their current plan.

The deadline to sign up for 2026 benefits is Saturday.

Here’s help in sorting out what the expiration of the enhanced subsidies for insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, means in the Golden State.

What expired?

In 2021, Congress voted to temporarily to boost the amount of subsidies Americans could receive for an ACA plan. The law also expanded the program to families who had more money. Before the vote, only Americans with incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level — currently $62,600 a year for a single person or $128,600 for a family of four — were eligible for ACA subsidies. The 2021 vote eliminated the income cap and limited the cost of premiums for those higher-earning families to no more than 8.5% of their income.

How could costs change this year for those enrolled in Covered California?

Anyone with income above 400% of the federal poverty level no longer receives subsidies. And many below that level won’t receive as much assistance as they had been receiving since 2021. At the same time, fast-rising health costs boosted the average Covered California premium this year by more than 10.3%, deepening the burden on families.

How much would the net monthly premium for a Los Angeles couple with two children and a household income of $90,000 rise?

The family’s net premium for the benchmark Silver plan would jump to $699 a month this year from $414 a month last year, according to Covered California. That’s an increase of 69%, costing the family an additional $3,420 this year.

Who else could face substantially higher health bills?

People who retired before the Medicare-qualifying age of 65, believing that the enhanced subsidies were permanent, will be especially hit hard. Those with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty level could now be facing thousands of dollars in additional health insurance costs.

How did enrollment in Covered California change after the enhanced subsidies expired on Dec. 31?

As of Jan. 17, 1,906,033 Californians had enrolled for 2026 insurance. That’s less than 1% lower than the 1,921,840 who had enrolled by this time last year.

Who depends on Covered California?

Enrollees are mostly those who don’t have access to an employer’s health insurance plan and don’t qualify for Medi-Cal, the government-paid insurance for lower-income people and those who are disabled.

An analysis by KFF, a nonprofit that provides health policy information, found that nearly half the adults enrolled in an ACA plan are small-business owners or their employees, or are self-employed. Occupations using the health insurance exchanges where they can buy an ACA plan include realtors, farmers, chiropractors and musicians, the analysis found.

What is the underlying problem?

Healthcare spending has been increasing faster than overall inflation for years. The nation now spends more than $15,000 per person on healthcare each year. Medical spending today represents about 18% of the U.S. economy, which means that almost one out of every five dollars spent in the U.S. goes toward healthcare. In 1960, health spending was just 5% of the economy.

What has California done to help people who are paying more?

The state government allocated $190 million this year to provide subsidies for those earning up to 165% of the federal poverty level. This money will help keep monthly premiums consistent with 2025 levels for those with an annual income of up to $23,475 for an individual or $48,225 for a family of four, according to Covered California.

Where can I sign up?

People can find out whether they qualify for financial help and see their coverage options at the website CoveredCA.com.

What if I decide to go without health insurance?

People without insurance could face medical bills of tens of thousands of dollars if they become sick or get injured. And under California state law, those without coverage face an annual penalty of at least $900 for each adult and $450 for each child.