People signing up for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act for 2027 should expect higher premiums and fewer options. The enrollment period starts Sunday and ends in mid-January. The big changes include expiring financial assistance, rising rates, and stricter enrollment checks. Financial help is now restricted for many groups. Experts predict less coverage and higher prices, with average premiums rising by 13%. Those without subsidies will be affected most. New regulations will limit tax credits for certain immigrants, possibly increasing the uninsured. The Trump administration plans to remove 760,000 enrollees over claims of fraud, and is aiming for $2.2 billion in savings.

The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed a rule to crack down on American high-tech investments in China, Russia, North Korea and other “countries of concern." The U.S. government has been working for years to deny China and other adversaries investments that could help them boost their military power. Former President Joe Biden put restrictions on outbound U.S. investments in sectors such as semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence going into China. In December, Congress passed a law that codified and expanded the program to target more technologies and more foreign countries, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia. The new rule was announced Thursday.

U.S. consumers are uneasy about the increasingly high-tech ways that restaurant chains and major retailers are setting prices. Digital price tags are replacing paper ones in grocery aisles. Artificial intelligence tools help businesses decide what to charge by predicting how customers might respond. Terms like “dynamic pricing” and “surveillance pricing” are stirring up anger and anxiety on social media. Much of the concern focuses on whether customer data is getting used to give different people different prices for the same product. Walmart and McDonald's say critics misunderstand how their pricing tools work. Lawmakers and regulators are taking preemptive action to restrict when companies can use personal data in pricing.

President Donald Trump's investments in pharmaceutical companies have significantly increased after his return to the White House. A report from congressional Democrats reveals Trump's portfolio added millions of dollars in stocks from firms benefiting from a Republican-backed law that shields certain medications from Medicare price negotiations. The report was released Friday by the Joint Economic Committee’s minority arm. The report shows the Republican president's pharmaceutical stock holdings grew from $1.7 million in 2024 to as much as $56.2 million by the end of 2025. Trump has made lowering prescription drug prices a key part of his healthcare agenda. The White House denies any ethics issues and accuses Democrats of trying to fabricate them.

A 1988 law designed to protect the privacy of movie rentals in the age of Blockbuster Video is getting a fresh look from the Supreme Court. The justices heard arguments Wednesday in a case testing how the decades-old statute fits in the modern era of digital commerce.  A ruling by the justices could resolve a lower-court split over how a consumer qualifies for the law’s protections. Consumer advocates say the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 was broadly written to adapt to advances in technology and safeguard consumers’ personal information. The law's critics view it as a relic.

Americans have a new sunscreen option for the first time in over 25 years. The FDA approved the chemical ingredient BEMT back in June. It’s now available in products from brands like Neutrogena and others. The ingredient, already popular in Europe, offers broad protection without the cosmetic downsides of older ingredients. Dermatologists say BEMT fills a market gap by providing strong protection from ultraviolet light without leaving white streaks. It also has minimal skin absorption, reducing safety concerns. Unlike some older chemicals, BEMT is stable in sunlight. Experts still recommend reapplying sunscreen regularly and using additional sun protection.