Insurance customers begin new year with delaysThousands of health insurance consumers around the country have started the new year dealing with missing ID cards, billing errors and other problems tied to an enrollment surge at the end of 2015.Brokers and insurers in several states told The Associated Press that they’ve been inundated with complaints about these issues from customers with individual plans and those with coverage through small businesses. Insurance provider Health Care Service Corp., for instance, has been dealing with delays for about 10,000 companies, while billing errors caused bank overdrafts for 3,200 individual customers of a North Carolina insurer.These delays mean that some customers may have to pay for care up front or wait for their insurance cards to arrive before scheduling a doctor’s appointment, even though many have technically been covered since Jan. 1.

JC Penney to start selling home appliances againJ.C. Penny will sell refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances at some of its stores for the first time in more than 30 years.The move, announced Tuesday, comes as many department stores are under pressure to attract shoppers who are spending more money on their homes than on clothing.