Free Republic

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has suggested that England will not return to the tiers system at the end of its third lockdown because the infectious nature of the new coronavirus strain renders the system redundant, and over reported concerns of the economic recovery of some areas of the country. “It may be that a national approach, going down the tiers in a national way, might be better this time round, given that the disease is behaving much more nationally,” said Prime Minister Johnson said during a visit of a vaccination centre in Batley, West Yorkshire, on Monday.

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Wachovia Corp., the nation's fourth-largest bank, is giving its lowest-paid employees a break on their health-insurance premiums while asking their higher-paid colleagues to fork over more cash for the same coverage. The new tiered pricing system replaces one in which employees earning the highest salaries paid the same premiums as lower-paid workers for the same benefit. Wachovia has nearly 100,000 employees. It's the latest twist in employers' struggles with skyrocketing healthcare costs. And it's surfacing at a time when employees are signing up for health benefits and learning about changes in their plan. Such a system can...