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By TOM MURPHY, Associated Press Health Writer

Pricey prescriptions and nagging medical costs are swamping some insurers and employers now. Patients may start paying for it next year.

Health insurance will grow more expensive in many corners of the market in 2026, and coverage may shrink. That could leave patients paying more for doctor visits and dealing with prescription coverage changes.

Price increases could be especially stark in individual coverage marketplaces, where insurers also are predicting the federal government will end some support that helps people buy coverage.

“We’re in a period of uncertainty in every health insurance market right now, which is something we haven’t seen in a very long time,” said Larry Levitt, an executive vice president at the nonprofit KFF, which studies health care.

What’s hitting insurers

In conference calls to discuss recent earnings reports, insurers ticked off a list of rising costs: More people are receiving care. Visits to expensive emergency rooms are rising, as are claims for mental health treatments. read more

SpaceX has lined up its massive Starship and Super Heavy rocket for what would be its 10th suborbital test flight aiming to complete goals that have fallen short so far in 2025.

Watch Starship’s tenth flight test → https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B https://t.co/gbQv9akMO9

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 15, 2025

SpaceX stood down, though, from a Sunday night attempt to relaunch the most powerful rocket to ever make it to space “to allow time to troubleshoot an issue with ground systems,” the company stated. Propellant load on the Super Heavy booster had already begun before the scrub was called.

But the company will try again Monday to lift off from its Texas launch site Starbase during a one-hour window that opens from 7:30 p.m. EDT.

The first two launch attempts this year had explosive ends to its upper stage that painted the skies with destructive debris seen from Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. A third launch had the upper stage lost over the Indian Ocean.

The booster at least has seen some success this year including the second ever catch at the launch site, and then a reflight of that booster. read more

By Lane Gillespie, Bankrate.com

Try as we might to avoid it, sudden, expensive emergencies can happen to anyone. A pet might need an unexpected vet visit, your car might need a replacement part or you may experience a layoff. That’s where emergency savings come in: By keeping a savings fund that you only use for emergencies, you can have peace of mind knowing you can tackle any big expense that comes your way.

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While keeping an emergency savings fund is important, if you’re working with a tight budget, it may not be easy for you to put aside a few thousand dollars. In fact, nearly a quarter (24%) of Americans say they have no emergency savings, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report. read more

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is headed for its 50th rendezvous with the International Space Station bringing cargo and a new reboost capability after having launched from the Space Coast early Sunday.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 2:45 a.m. on the CRS-33 mission, the 33rd resupply flight to the station with a spacecraft filled with more than 5,000 pounds of supplies.

The first-stage booster for the mission flew for the seventh time and made a recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/aD3fKAZeHN

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 24, 2025

Unlike other flights, this Dragon will stay docked to the station for more than four months because of a newly installed ability to propel the station to higher altitudes.

Located in the trunk of the Dragon is an independent propellant system to fuel two Draco engines that will help sustain the lab’s altitude beginning in September and continuing through fall. This is a full demonstration, although the Dragon on CRS-31 in November 2024 did a smaller test of the capability. read more

By Summer Ballentine, The Detroit News

Michael MacGillivray had planned for months to replace his gas-powered Ford Bronco with an electric vehicle.

As a certified public accountant, he followed congressional debate over President Donald Trump’s sprawling spending and tax legislation, which would end $7,500 tax credits for some first-time EV buyers. When Trump signed the legislation into law July 4, MacGillivray knew he needed to act.

“I was leaning toward the EV regardless, but the tax credit pushed me over the edge,” MacGillivray told The Detroit News while driving his new Tesla Model Y back from a road trip to Toronto.

The 25-year-old Ann Arbor resident is among a surge of what analysts call “fence sitters” buying EVs in the final weeks before the tax credit expires Sept. 30. And automakers are taking advantage of the short-term boost to clear inventory in anticipation of at least a temporary drop in interest once the credits end.

Hyundai’s electrified sales jumped 50% compared to July 2024. Combined sales of electrified Toyota and Lexus models rose 6.7% to 90,426. July was General Motors Co.’s best-ever month for its electrified fleet, according to the company, which said it sold more than 19,000 EVs, a 115% increase from July 2024. read more