Your Money

The new strategy of some health plans for state employees is to pay hospitals a certain percentage above the basic Medicare reimbursement rate. It allows hospitals a small profit, the states say, while reducing costs to states and patients.

Health Plans For State Employees Use Medicare's Hammer On Hospital Bills

1:23pm March 20, 2019

by Julie Appleby

Some states have begun using Medicare reimbursement rates to recalibrate how they pay hospitals. If the gamble pays off, more private-sector employers could start doing the same thing.

Coffee is served at a coffee shop in Medellin on October 28, 2017. (the town has a stationary population of 20000 people). / AFP PHOTO / JOAQUIN SARMIENTO (Photo credit should read JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP/Getty Images

Economy

Coffee? Thank U, Next

4:21pm March 19, 2019

Your average cup of coffee is getting more expensive — but the price for coffee beans is going down. How can that be?

Economy

The Cost Of Student Debt

4:32pm March 18, 2019

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Should you take out a student loan? Jill Schlesinger, author of "The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money," does the math.

Economy

Buying A College Degree: Did Aunt Becky Overpay?

5:26pm March 15, 2019

The scandal that dominated the news this week involved parents paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their kids into the right college. But what is a college degree really worth?

Economy

Saying 'I Do' To Lab-Grown Diamonds

4:07pm March 14, 2019

A lot of money is pouring into the global diamond industry, but demand for diamonds has been less than lustrous of late. But, at the same time, money has been pouring into the industry. Why?

Economy

The Economy Inside Your Head

4:33pm March 13, 2019

by Cardiff Garcia

Economics looks at how we make decisions in a world of scarce resources. What happens when the scarce resource is our attention?

Fred and Natasha Ruckel's cat, Yoda, sits on top of the Ripple Rug. The Ripple Rug was the subject of a classic middleman scheme involving eBay and Amazon.

Economy

Episode 724: Cat Scam

11:52am March 13, 2019

by Stacey Vanek Smith

The internet was supposed to get rid of middlemen--but instead there are more than ever. Today on the show, we look into how one sneaky strategy, dropship arbitrage, is taking over Amazon and Ebay.

Philadelphia just became the first large city in the nation to ban cashless businesses in the city, in part to protect people like Dwight Tindal, a construction worker who doesn't have a bank or credit card.

Protecting The 'Unbanked' By Banning Cashless Businesses In Philadelphia

4:22pm March 12, 2019

by Aaron Moselle

Nearly 13 percent of Philadelphia's population doesn't have a bank account — more than double the regional average. The city has just become the first big city in the U.S. to ban cashless businesses.

Economy

A Tale Of Two Dollar Stores

4:05pm March 12, 2019

Dollar stores thrived during the economic downturn--opening thousands of locations across the country. They were recession-proof...but are they recovery-proof?

A pro-Brexit activist wears a hat decorated with pictures of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and an EU flag as they demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on February 27, 2019. (Photo by Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo credit should

Economy

March Madness: Britain Leaving The EU

4:42pm March 11, 2019

Leaving the EU is unprecedented, but leaving a large trading bloc is not.