The cost of insurance cuts | Morning Newsletter
✏️ And cursive in the classroom.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning, Philly.
The exorbitant costs of weight-loss drugs like Wegovy have prompted some insurers to tighten requirements around coverage. Now, local patients worry about affording their medications.
And should cursive writing make a comeback in New Jersey schools? A lawmaker believes all students should learn it.
Let’s get into these stories and more on a cloudy St. Patrick’s Day.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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As some insurers cut coverage for weight-loss drugs, Philadelphians who take them for a variety of reasons are struggling to afford them while worrying about losing the health improvements they’ve attained. Case in point:
In January, Independence Blue Cross, the area’s largest insurer, stopped covering any weight loss drugs when they are prescribed solely to lose weight, citing high costs. The change meant one Francisville woman lost her IBX insurance coverage for the drug Wegovy, which she takes to lose weight to alleviate symptoms of a rare brain condition. Without insurance coverage, it costs $650 a dose.
Health reporter Aubrey Whelan spoke to patients and experts about the impact of the change.
In other money news: Consumer confidence is low as shoppers in the Philly region say they’re stressed about rising costs. And Pennsylvania is one of the states that has allowed the least amount of housing to be built, and the lack of supply is hiking prices for homebuyers and renters.
Do you know how to write in cursive? Learning the loopy, connective style of penmanship is no longer a given. Nowadays, only 24 states require schools to include some type of cursive instruction.
✏️ In New Jersey, it’s not currently mandated, though a proposed law would change that. Some public school curricula include it by choice, such as in the Cherry Hill and Burlington Township districts.
✏️ Advocates argue the skill helps students better retain information and improves motor skill development, among other benefits. Detractors say the rise of technology negates the need for it.
✏️ Notable quote: “Right now, we have a large generation of young adults who cannot sign their names,” said New Jersey State Sen. Angela McKnight, who cosponsored the bill. “We need to get ahead of the curve and go back to our roots.”
Education reporter Melanie Burney visited a fourth-grade classroom in Shamong for the story.
What you should know today
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Democrats should have been more strategic in trying to extract concessions from the Republican-led Congress on the government funding bill that passed last week.
Jury selection begins today in a high-profile perjury trial for three former Philadelphia homicide detectives who prosecutors say lied under oath during a murder retrial nine years ago.
Tens of thousands of companies that are currently exempt from Philly’s business tax would have to start paying it under a provision of the new city budget proposal that was prompted by a lawsuit challenging the legality of a popular tax break.
A City Council committee put the brakes on installing speed cameras near some Philly schools, with members asking whether the plan is a “cash grab.”
After 14 months of bargaining, faculty and staff at the Community College of Philadelphia have authorized their union negotiating team to call a strike if necessary.
The Cecil B. Moore Library in North Philly reopened Thursday after being closed since January and just two days after an emotional town hall meeting.
As the reconstruction of Route 70 continues with few visible signs of progress, Cherry Hill residents are getting frustrated. Plus, the township adopted a zoning overlay intended to shield its only working farm and a garden center from development.
Classic movie theaters are making a comeback around Philly, with a number of indie theater development projects in the works.
🧠 Trivia time
Pennsylvania exports more goods to Canada than anywhere else. Amid an escalating global trade war, which is not one of the top state-made products that could be impacted by Canadian tariffs?
A) Motorcycles
B) Chocolate
C) Steel
D) Scrapple
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) we’re...
🍔 Eating: The 18 most “supremely satisfying” burgers in Philly.
📊 Explaining: The city’s budget negotiations in four charts.
⚽ Grooving to: Philly’s DJ Jazzy Jeff-produced “Sonic ID” for FIFA World Cup 2026.
🤼♀️ Cheering for: Pennsauken’s Jada Pichardo, who dreams of college wrestling and the Olympics.
🏥 Considering: Trauma surgeons’ warning of the possible return to high gun violence rates.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Mountainous region of eastern Pennsylvania
NO SCOOP
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Tom Warms, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Rutgers University. The Trump administration is investigating the New Jersey institution and other colleges for alleged racial discrimination.
Photo of the day
📬 Your “only in Philly” story
Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Kristi Gilroy, a Florida educator known as the “Eagles teacher” who sent this addendum to her story published here in July:
Since that time, I have been able to make myself more official with a personalized parking spot and have continued to be well outfitted with new gear given to me by my class. With this exciting Super Bowl run, we continued to share Wawa pretzels and Tastykakes as in the past.
This year, though, I was able to motivate with videos of Saquon Barkley jumping over players and A.J. Brown reading on the sidelines. My students now ask if they are having an “A.J. Brown or a Saquon Barkley day” when they have achieved their goals.
One parent wrote that her son had asked her to find “the Eagles song” on Apple Music and wanted an A.J. Brown jersey. After sharing with his family about how I had told them about A.J. reading on the sidelines, his dad, who enjoys self-help books, looked it up and purchased Inner Excellence.
The best was the week before the Super Bowl as I wore an Eagles shirt daily, and former students who I had taught started to sing the fight song as I went past. Finally, I was able to have a shared sibling experience when an older brother celebrated the 2018 win and a little brother, 2025. Go Birds!
Wishing you a smooth start to your week. Back at it tomorrow morning.
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