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On online?baby message boards?and other?social media forums, pregnant women say they are being asked by their providers to pay out-of-pocket fees earlier than expected. The practice is legal, but patient advocacy groups call it unethical. Patients, medical billing experts, and patient advocates say the billing practice causes unexpected anxiety at a time of already heightened stress and financial pressure. Estimates can sometimes be higher than what a patient might ultimately owe and force people to fight for refunds if they miscarry or the amount paid was higher than the final bill. Up-front payments also create hurdles for women who may want to switch providers if they are unhappy with their care. In some cases, they may cause women to forgo prenatal care altogether, especially in places where few other maternity care options exist. It's "holding their treatment hostage," said Caitlin Donovan, a senior director at the?Patient Advocate Foundation.

BREAKING: The satirical publication The Onion?said?it has bought Alex Jones' Infowars at auction for an undisclosed price.

Spirit Airlines is considering declaring bankruptcy after a proposed merger with Frontier Airlines fell apart. The Miramar, Florida-based discount airline is expected to file for bankruptcy protection from its debts in as little as 10 days or within weeks, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News. Spirit acknowledged in a regulatory filing late Tuesday that it is in "active and constructive discussions" with bondholders to restructure its obligations as its business woes continue. If the talks succeed, the airline expects operations to continue, and for employees and customers to be shielded from any impact. The company's stock price cratered after news surfaced of the potential bankruptcy filing, tumbling nearly 55% to $1.46 in morning trade.

With Republicans edging?closer to gaining control?of Congress, millions of Americans may be at risk of losing enhanced subsidies that currently underwrite the cost of health insurance bought through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, according to industry experts and the Congressional Budget Office. If Republicans gain control of Congress, they are widely expected to allow the enhanced ACA subsidies to expire at the end of 2025, depriving many people who buy coverage through the ACA and who currently receive these subsidies of that financial assistance, according to health care policy experts. So-called enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which lower the cost of health plans for millions of Americans and were passed under the Biden administration, will expire unless lawmakers renew them.

BREAKING: U.S. inflation rose 2.6% in October, a month after the Fed started to cut interest rates. Here's what to know.

President Joe Biden made student loan forgiveness a central issue to his administration, rolling out efforts to forgive debt as well as to lower repayments for millions of borrowers. But with President-elect Donald Trump?returning?to the White House in January, the future of those efforts is now in question. Here's what we know.

America's seniors will pay more for their health care in the new year, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that premiums for its Part B plan will increase by about 6% in 2025.?

Grocery prices continue to eat a hole in household budgets, with many Americans citing the economy and inflation as top issues?behind their votes?in the November 5 election. But there are signs that consumers may soon get a break on their grocery bills, with some food prices falling in October from a year earlier — the first decline in four years. Online grocery prices dipped 0.1% in October from a year — that marks the first dip since January 2020, before the pandemic shuttered the U.S. economy and sent inflation soaring, according to new?data?from Adobe's Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI), which tracks online prices.

Between finding openings, sending out your resume and interviewing, looking for a job is tough. Now a growing trend of?scammers?impersonating recruiters is making it even harder. In the last year, job scams have been on the rise, according to Eva Casey-Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center - Nonprofit, a nonprofit that helps consumers when their identities are compromised. Because most job seekers turn to online platforms for employment, scammers impersonate companies and recruiters to trick people into giving them money or personal information. "We've really seen tremendous growth in job scams," Velasquez said. "I think that's just due to the fact that we fundamentally changed the way we recruit and hire people."

BREAKING: The Fed lowers interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, the second cut this year. Here’s what to know.