Credit agencies agree to changes

NEW YORK — The three largest credit-reporting agencies will change the way they handle records in a major revamp long sought by consumer advocates.

Medical debts won't be reported until after a 180-day waiting period to allow time for insurance payments to be applied. People who contest items in their credit reports will receive additional information concerning their dispute, including instructions on what they can do if they don't like the answer they get.

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are also honing their focus on an enhanced dispute resolution process to help victims of identity theft and fraud.

The three credit reporting agencies will get rid of the reporting of debts that didn't arise from a contract or agreement by the consumer to pay, such as tickets or fines.

The National Consumer Assistance Plan is intended to provide people with more transparency and more simple navigation when dealing with the bureaus that hold their credit reports.

The changes were announced today after talks between Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Law costs gov't billions of dollars

A law that allows rural hospitals to bill Medicare for rehabilitation services for seniors at higher rates than nursing homes and other facilities has led to billions of dollars in extra government spending, federal investigators say.

Most patients could have been moved to a skilled-nursing facility within 35 miles of the hospital at about one-fourth the cost, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general said in a report being released today.

Hospitals juggling tough balance sheets have come to view such “swing-bed” patients as lucrative, fueling a steady rise in the number of people getting such care and costing Medicare an additional $4.1 billion over six years, the report said.

Obama focuses on high-tech jobs

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is focusing on high-tech jobs in his bid to make progress on stagnant wages in this country.

Obama has obtained commitments from more than 300 employers as well as local governments in 20 regions of the country to train and hire high technology workers in an effort to drive up higher-income employment.

People familiar with the program inside and outside the White House said Obama is to announce the program, called TechHire, during a speech today to the National League of Cities.

According to the White House, of the 5 million jobs available today, more than half a million of them are in fields such as software development, network administration and cybersecurity.