Trade Associations
Here's a look at documents from national and international trade associations
Featured Stories
Major Change for TRICARE Coverage of Breakthrough Alzheimer's Drug
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The Military Officers Association of America issued the following news:
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Major Change for TRICARE Coverage of Breakthrough Alzheimer's Drug
A first-of-its-kind drug treating early stage Alzheimer's disease via in-home injection has been added to the TRICARE formulary.
Patients who receive the monoclonal antibody Leqembi via intravenous infusion every two weeks for 18 months now may continue treatment with similar infusions every four weeks or a weekly subcutaneous at-home injection. The Leqembi Iqlik (pronounced "I-Click") auto-injector is appearing in the TRICARE
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The Military Officers Association of America issued the following news:
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Major Change for TRICARE Coverage of Breakthrough Alzheimer's Drug
A first-of-its-kind drug treating early stage Alzheimer's disease via in-home injection has been added to the TRICARE formulary.
Patients who receive the monoclonal antibody Leqembi via intravenous infusion every two weeks for 18 months now may continue treatment with similar infusions every four weeks or a weekly subcutaneous at-home injection. The Leqembi Iqlik (pronounced "I-Click") auto-injector is appearing in the TRICAREformulary as a Tier 3 drug with a 30-day supply available for a $76 copay.
Providing coverage for the at-home maintenance option will allow beneficiaries to avoid travel to infusion centers for follow-up care.
Beneficiaries must have prior authorization and submit a medical necessity form to verify coverage. The injector may be found at a retail pharmacy or a military treatment facility, but beneficiaries likely will need to obtain the Leqembi Iqlik via Accredo, which provides specialty pharmacy services to TRICARE beneficiaries.
Coverage of the at-home treatment comes after the Food and Drug Administration approved the at-home maintenance dosing in August and after drugmaker Biogen introduced Leqembi Iqlik in the U.S. in early October. About a year earlier, MOAA and other advocacy groups successfully led an effort to secure TRICARE coverage for monoclonal antibodies Leqembi and Kisunla, closing a coverage gap faced by early Alzheimer's sufferers for more than a year.
TRICARE's coverage of monoclonal antibodies is provisional, and may last up to five years.
MOAA will continue monitoring drug coverage changes as part of its overarching work to ensure a world-class health benefit for those who serve and have served, with care on par with Medicare, federal employee plans, and other benchmarks.
TRICARE beneficiaries with questions about the pharmacy program or their prescriptions should consult with their provider, visit TRICARE.mil for program details and forms, or reach out to Express Scripts at (877) 363-1303.
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Original text here: https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2025-news-articles/health-care-and-earned-benefits/major-change-for-tricare-coverage-of-breakthrough-alzheimers-drug/
[Category: National Defense]
COLA and Shutdown Fallout: What You Should Know
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The Military Officers Association of America issued the following news:
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COLA and Shutdown Fallout: What You Should Know
By Kevin Lilley
The 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to military retirement pay, Survivor Benefit Plan payments, VA disability compensation, and Social Security checks will reach beneficiaries' bank accounts in late December (or early January), but the path toward the following year's increase is off to a rocky start.
The COLA stems from monthly inflation reports tracking the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- The Military Officers Association of America issued the following news:
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COLA and Shutdown Fallout: What You Should Know
By Kevin Lilley
The 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to military retirement pay, Survivor Benefit Plan payments, VA disability compensation, and Social Security checks will reach beneficiaries' bank accounts in late December (or early January), but the path toward the following year's increase is off to a rocky start.
The COLA stems from monthly inflation reports tracking the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers(CPI-W). The higher this figure rests at the close of the fiscal year, the higher the increase for beneficiaries. So while the October 2025 CPI-W figure would provide some insight into early inflation trends, it's far from a reliable indicator of a future COLA increase.
Which is good ... because it likely won't exist.
The Nov. 13 report announcing that figure was delayed and then canceled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which published a list of revised report release dates in the days following the shutdown. Survey data used to set CPIs was not collected during the funding lapse, and "BLS is unable to retroactively collect these data," according to the web post.
This means the first indicator of future COLA levels will come Dec. 18, with the release of the November 2025 inflation data. As in previous years, the adjustment will be set by comparing an average of the July, August, and September 2026 CPI-W figures with the 2025 average of those months - the percentage increase, rounded up to the nearest tenth, serves as the annual adjustment. If there is no increase or the 2026 figures are below the 2025 baseline, payments would remain at the previous year's levels.
Why MOAA Tracks COLA Releases
The monthly releases offer a window into potential retirement-pay increases and can be a small piece of a wider financial strategy for those receiving COLA-attached compensation. But tracking the figure has a larger purpose, especially in years where projections are higher than average.
COLA has come under threat as a way to lower federal spending, with legislation introduced that would either change how COLA is calculated or eliminate the adjustment entirely for some beneficiaries, to include military retirees.
More than four decades ago, advocates across the military and veteran communities - including MOAA, then known as The Retired Officers Association - formed The Military Coalition to successfully reverse plans to eliminate COLA from military retired pay. MOAA's testimony was also key to reversing "COLA Minus 1 Percent" - a plan in the 2010s set to reduce the value of a military retiree's pay by tens of thousands of dollars before many even reached traditional retirement age.
Those threats may be in the past, but the Congressional Budget Office regularly includes a proposal to reindex COLA as part of its options for lawmakers to reduce the deficit. Linking pay increases for Social Security recipients, military retirees, and others to a different measurement - known as "Chained CPI" - would save nearly $280 billion over 10 years ... but would severely weaken the purchasing power of service-earned retiree, survivor, and disability compensation.
Protecting the value of your earned benefits remains a core part of MOAA's mission. That includes ensuring these benefits retain their value over time, whether that means maintaining access to high quality health care after service or ensuring retiree and survivor pay keep up with inflation.
Stay up to date with COLA via our COLA Watch page, and register at our Legislative Action Center to keep up with all of MOAA's legislative priorities.
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Original text here: https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2025-news-articles/finance/cola-and-shutdown-fallout-what-you-should-know/
[Category: National Defense]
NetChoice Disappointed in 11th Circuit's Ruling Allowing Florida to Enforce Its ID-for-Speech Law
WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 [Category: Business] -- NetChoice, a coalition of trade associations that says it makes the internet safe for free enterprise and expression, posted the following news release:
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NetChoice Disappointed in 11th Circuit's Ruling Allowing Florida to Enforce Its ID-for-Speech Law
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ATLANTAToday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted Florida's request to lift our halt of the state's ID-for-Speech law in our lawsuit, CCIA & NetChoice v. Uthmeier.
On June 3, 2025, a U.S. District Court halted Florida's ID-for-Speech law. HB 3 violates the First Amendment
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 [Category: Business] -- NetChoice, a coalition of trade associations that says it makes the internet safe for free enterprise and expression, posted the following news release:
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NetChoice Disappointed in 11th Circuit's Ruling Allowing Florida to Enforce Its ID-for-Speech Law
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ATLANTAToday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted Florida's request to lift our halt of the state's ID-for-Speech law in our lawsuit, CCIA & NetChoice v. Uthmeier.
On June 3, 2025, a U.S. District Court halted Florida's ID-for-Speech law. HB 3 violates the First Amendmentby forcing Floridians to hand over their personal data just to access protected speech online. It mandates websites to collect sensitive information, enhancing the cybersecurity risk for children by making data more vulnerable to hackers and predators. Florida appealed this ruling to the Eleventh Circuit, and the Court granted the state's request.
"NetChoice is disappointed in the Eleventh Circuit's ruling allowing Florida's censorship law to take effect while Florida continues to appeal our injunction. Briefing has finished, and we look forward to the opportunity to explain the law's constitutional problems to the Court directly," said Paul Taske, Co-Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center. "We will consider all available options to ensure Floridians' online communication is safe and free. Florida's censorship regime not only violates its citizens' free speech rights but also makes all users-especially minors-less safe."
Read the Eleventh Circuit's ruling today here.
Find case resources for CCIA & NetChoice v. Uthmeier here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.
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Original text here: https://netchoice.org/netchoice-disappointed-in-11th-circuits-ruling-allowing-florida-to-enforce-its-id-for-speech-law/
MISMO Publishes Credit Scoring Implementation Artifacts
WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 [Category: Financial Services] -- The Mortgage Bankers Association posted the following news release:
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MISMO Publishes Credit Scoring Implementation Artifacts
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 25, 2025) - MISMO (r), the real estate finance industry's standards organization, today announced that a new Credit Score Implementation Guide and Credit Score Model Name Document have reached "Final" status, which means they have been thoroughly reviewed by a wide range of organizations and industry participants and are available for industry use.
"The Credit Score Implementation
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 [Category: Financial Services] -- The Mortgage Bankers Association posted the following news release:
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MISMO Publishes Credit Scoring Implementation Artifacts
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 25, 2025) - MISMO (r), the real estate finance industry's standards organization, today announced that a new Credit Score Implementation Guide and Credit Score Model Name Document have reached "Final" status, which means they have been thoroughly reviewed by a wide range of organizations and industry participants and are available for industry use.
"The Credit Score ImplementationGuide is a new resource that provides backward and forward compatibility guidance for the implementation of MISMO standards to support the industry-wide, credit reporting modernization," said MISMO President Brian Vieaux. "This guidance is intended for those that use the MISMO reference model and are working on implementing the new credit scoring models into their systems."
The MISMO Credit Reporting Community of Practice (CoP) is leading this work, providing critical input and collaboration to ensure the standards reflect evolving credit reporting requirements. This group serves as a key forum for industry professionals to contribute their perspectives and help shape the future of credit reporting standards.
MISMO invites all interested participants to join the Credit Reporting CoP, the group convenes on the first and third Thursday of each month from 4-5pm ET.
MISMO's work to solve key industry challenges is made possible through the support of its members, champions, sponsors, and lenders (via the Innovation Investment Fee). To learn more about MISMO and opportunities to participate, visit MISMO.org.
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Original text here: https://www.mba.org/news-and-research/newsroom/news/2025/11/25/mismo-publishes-credit-scoring-implementation-artifacts
Construction Input Costs Rise Again In September As Metals, Diesel And Concrete Products Drive Year-over-year Increases
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Nov. 25 [Category: Construction] -- Associated General Contractors of America posted the following news release:
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Construction Input Costs Rise Again In September As Metals, Diesel And Concrete Products Drive Year-over-year Increases
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The producer price index for materials and services used in nonresidential construction rose 0.2 percent in September and 3.2 percent from September 2024, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials said the latest figures underscore how cost pressures
... Show Full Article
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Nov. 25 [Category: Construction] -- Associated General Contractors of America posted the following news release:
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Construction Input Costs Rise Again In September As Metals, Diesel And Concrete Products Drive Year-over-year Increases
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The producer price index for materials and services used in nonresidential construction rose 0.2 percent in September and 3.2 percent from September 2024, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials said the latest figures underscore how cost pressuresare resurfacing for contractors even as overall demand in several private-sector construction segments remains muted.
"Persistent input-price pressure, even when the increases are modest, creates a stop and go rhythm in procurement and production instead of a steady flow contractors and suppliers need." said Macrina Wilkins, the association's senior research analyst. She noted that "these month-to-month swings make it harder for firms to plan confidently and protect already-thin margins."
Several major input categories saw notable year-over-year increases. The producer price index for aluminum mill shapes increased 1.7 percent last month and 26 percent from September 2024. While the index for steel mill products fell 1.5 percent in September, it climbed by 12.4 percent over the past 12 months. The index for precast concrete products inched up 0.3 percent for the month and 5.5 percent year-over-year. Diesel fuel, a critical input for off-road equipment and transportation, rose 1.8 percent for the month and 8.2 percent year over year.
Association officials said the September data shows that contractors are facing modest but persistent increases in input costs even as bid prices have begun to cool. They noted that this imbalance, where materials costs edge higher while final demand and pricing power soften, is adding pressure for firms at a time when several private sector markets remain uneven. Uncertainty around future tariff levels and global trade conditions is adding another layer of caution, making it harder for contractors to plan procurement or secure long-term pricing with confidence.
"Contractors can manage modest cost increases, but they need a predictable environment to keep projects moving," said Jeffrey D. Shoaf, the chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America. "Greater clarity on tariff policy and progress on outstanding trade issues would help stabilize materials markets and give firms more confidence to plan for the work ahead.
View producer price index data.
Contractor Type
Utility
Infrastructure
Federal/Heavy
Highway
Building
Industry Priorities
Economics
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Original text here: https://www.agc.org/news/2025/11/25/construction-input-costs-rise-again-september-metals-diesel-and-concrete-products-drive-year-over
CMS Releases CY 2026 Final Medicare OPPS, ASC And ESRD Payment And Policy Updates
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, Nov. 25 -- The Missouri Hospital Association posted the following news:
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CMS Releases CY 2026 Final Medicare OPPS, ASC And ESRD Payment And Policy Updates
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the calendar year 2026 Medicare hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, updates to the Ambulatory Surgical Center payment program and the End-stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System. Major updates include the following.
OPPS
* increases the OPPS payment rates by 2.6%, which is a 0.2% increase from the proposed rule; this is based on a 3.3%
... Show Full Article
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, Nov. 25 -- The Missouri Hospital Association posted the following news:
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CMS Releases CY 2026 Final Medicare OPPS, ASC And ESRD Payment And Policy Updates
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released the calendar year 2026 Medicare hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, updates to the Ambulatory Surgical Center payment program and the End-stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System. Major updates include the following.
OPPS
* increases the OPPS payment rates by 2.6%, which is a 0.2% increase from the proposed rule; this is based on a 3.3%market basket update, less a 0.7% productivity adjustment
* reduces off-campus provider-based department payments for drug administration services
* phases out the inpatient-only list over a three-year period beginning with the elimination of 285 procedures
* did not finalize the accelerated repayment of the 340B remedy
* further revises hospital price transparency rules by requiring hospitals to disclose the 10th, median and 90th percentile amounts to be reported within the machine-readable files
* finalizes the reduction of civil monetary penalties by 35% when a hospital agrees with CMS' determination of their noncompliance and waives the right to a hearing
ASC
* increases ASC rates by 2.6%, which is based on the IPPS market basket percent increase of 3.3%, less the 0.7% productivity adjustment
* extends the use of hospital market basket update as the update factor used for the ASC payment system by one additional year
ESRD
* CMS is estimating ESRD PPS payments to increase by 2.2%
* decreases the outlier fixed dollar loss threshold from $234.26 to $162.43
MHA published an issue brief with additional information.
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About Missouri Hospital Association
The Missouri Hospital Association is a nonprofit association in Jefferson City that represents 136 Missouri hospitals. In addition to representation and advocacy on behalf of its membership, the association offers continuing education programs on current health care topics and seeks to educate the public about health care issues.
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Original text here: https://www.mohospitals.org/newsroom/cms-releases-cy-2026-final-medicare-opps-asc-and-esrd-payment-and-policy-updates
[Category: Health Care]
AICPA, State CPA Societies Urge Department of Education to Recognize Accounting Programs as Professional Degree Programs
NEW YORK, Nov. 25 -- The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants issued the following news release:
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AICPA, State CPA Societies Urge Department of Education to Recognize Accounting Programs as Professional Degree Programs
Designation Would Recognize the Critical Role CPAs Play and Ensure Access to Financial Aid for Future Accountants
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and state CPA societies strongly oppose any proposal that fails to recognize accounting as a professional degree program.
The organizations are calling on the U.S. Department
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Nov. 25 -- The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants issued the following news release:
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AICPA, State CPA Societies Urge Department of Education to Recognize Accounting Programs as Professional Degree Programs
Designation Would Recognize the Critical Role CPAs Play and Ensure Access to Financial Aid for Future Accountants
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and state CPA societies strongly oppose any proposal that fails to recognize accounting as a professional degree program.
The organizations are calling on the U.S. Departmentof Education to explicitly include accounting programs in the regulatory definition of "professional degree programs." While higher education reforms were included in H.R. 1--commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act--the Department of Education only recently released proposed changes that would reclassify professional degree programs. Unfortunately, accounting is not currently listed among those programs.
"Recognizing accounting programs as professional degree programs is common sense," said Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, the president and CEO of the AICPA. "It reflects the impact accountants make on the lives of individuals, the health of communities and the integrity of financial systems, as well as the rigorous path taken to become a licensed Certified Public Accountant."
The definitions of professional degree programs help determine loan eligibility, which can be a critical differentiator for a student striving to complete an accounting degree program and become a CPA.
Becoming a licensed CPA involves meeting specific education requirements, passing the CPA Exam, and completing work experience under the supervision of another CPA. CPAs throughout their careers are bound by the ethical requirements of a code of conduct and must complete ongoing professional education, among other requirements, to remain licensed.
The combination of challenging initial licensure requirements and life-long commitment to protecting the public interest are hallmarks of accounting's status as a professional field. The federal government's own projections suggest that demand for accountants will continue to outstrip demand for jobs in general through 2034 (+5% growth vs. +3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), making it even more critical that support mechanisms such as recognition and financial aid are in place.
The AICPA and state CPA societies will continue to advocate strongly for accounting to be recognized as a professional degree program.
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Original text here: https://www.aicpa-cima.com/news/article/aicpa-state-cpa-societies-urge-department-of-education-to-recognize
[Category: Accounting]
