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Tag: insurance requirements

ACA Exchange Notice

Federal and state governments are manufacturing insurance exchanges/market places as another resource for existing insurance carriers to offer their products and plans. These same products and plans will be available outside the exchanges/market places. For most employers, this new market place will be a redundancy to the way you currently understand insurance to work. The benefactors will primarily be the indigent and certain small businesses that qualify for financial assistance.  As always, Cosby Insurance group will provide you thorough analysis of all your choices.

However, the Affordable Care Act (ACA or health care reform law) added a section to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that said employers must provide a written notice to each existing employee. The Department of Labor (DOL) provided an update with temporary guidance and templates of the required notices. Starting on October 1, 2013, the notices have to be given to new employees on the day they are hired. The notices have to be given to existing employees no later than October 1, 2013. The notices will:

  • Advise employees about exchanges including a description of the services provided and how they can contact exchanges to request assistance;
  • Let employees know they may be eligible for a premium tax credit if the employer-sponsored plan does not meet certain standards, and the employee buys a qualified health plan through an exchange;
  • Explains that if the employee buys a qualified health plan through an exchange, he or she may lose the employer contribution to any health benefit plan the employer offers, and that all or a portion of the contribution may be excluded from income for Federal tax purposes.

Please know that the quality and affordability of your employer-sponsored benefits is important to being  a competitive employer. Providing competitive and affordable  benefits is now more important than ever.

Important links:
Technical Release 2013-02
Model Exchange Notice
Cobra model

Betting On Losing

Companies such as Domino’s Pizza are introducing a new weight loss challenge program that doesn’t cost them anything and makes employees put some skin in the game

Money talks when it comes to losing weight, according to a recent Mayo Clinic study that followed 100 participants for one year and revealed that those who were paid to lose weight not only shed more pounds than those who weren’t, but also stuck with the program for a longer period of time.

“There’s a trend toward using financial incentives, and the problem is most financial incentives are, in our opinion, not structured very well or very thoughtfully,” says Jimmy Flemming, co-founder of HealthyWage, a weight loss wellness company that requires employees to bet their own money they’ll lose weight. “And employees are effectively punished for being too fat or for smoking, or rewarded for being thin enough, for not smoking, usually by being able to get a discount on a health insurance premium or a lower monthly rate. And our philosophy is less about cost-shifting and punishing or rewarding people, and more about trying to use financial incentives to actually achieve behavior change.”

Read more…

The IRS and Obamacare By The Numbers

New details recently emerged about the IRS, as representatives from six conservative groups testified before Congress about the scrutiny and demands they faced from Obama administration bureaucrats.

Their testimony reminds us once again why Americans should be concerned about the new powers granted to the IRS as a result of Obamacare.

Just consider the numbers:

  1. 18-New taxes in Obamacare, including 12 that directly violate then-Senator Barack Obama’s “firm pledge” to those making under $250,000 per year that he would not “raise any of your taxes.”
  2. 47-New provisions Obamacare charges the IRS with implementing, according to the Government Accountability Office.
  3. $695-Tax for not buying “government-approved” health insurance the IRS will be charged with enforcing on all Americans.
  4. 1,954-Full-time bureaucrats the IRS wants to devote to Obamacare implementation and enforcement in the upcoming fiscal year.
  5. 60,000,000-Medical records the IRS has been charged with improperly seizing, raising concerns about whether the agency can handle the personal health insurance information all Americans will be required to submit to the IRS.
  6. $439,584,000-The IRS’s request for new spending on Obamacare implementation in the upcoming fiscal year; the request did not specify how much of those funds the IRS will spend on the “Cupid shuffle.”
  7. 6,100,000,000-Man-hours Americans already devote to tax compliance, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate, a burden that will rise significantly thanks to Obamacare.
  8. $1,000,000,000,000-New revenue raised by Obamacare in its first 10 years alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office, sums that will only rise in future decades.

Truncated, Source:  The Christian Post

California Exchange Shows Lower Premiums…or Does It?

The health insurance exchange Covered California has been making headlines recently. Thirteen insurance carriers have submitted plans to be offered on the state-based health insurance exchange come 2014 and the premium rates released for these plans are lower than federal actuaries and budget forecasters had expected. Covered California has predicted that rates for individuals in 2014 will range from two percent above to 29% below average small-employer premiums this year.

These rates are surprising given the recent flood of studies performed by independent entities such as the Academy of Actuaries, the Congressional Budget Office and the Milliman Index, which all predict that, once the health reform law is implemented, insurance premiums in the exchanges, especially those for the young and healthy, are likely to spike in most states.

But are they?  The California data release compares individual plan coverage rates to small-employer plan rates—an apples-to-oranges comparison. The pure, unsubsidized premium costs of individual coverage versus employer coverage normally shows that individual market rates are lower, given that group purchasers often opt for richer plan designs. A more appropriate comparison might have been the cost of projected individual rates in California for this year versus next year. Forbes’ Avik Roy did such an analysis and found that the difference in mandated benefits and rating changes will result in individual-market price increases of between 64% and 146% when you compare 2013 individual premium rates with proposed 2014 exchange rates. It’s true that the availability of subsidies will reduce the amount many exchange consumers will pay out of pocket for their coverage, but that doesn’t mean the actual premiums will be reduced–far from it.

Clearly, the Obama Administration will take what it can get when it comes to positive press surrounding the health reform law. To further draw attention to the news of California’s lowered premiums, President Obama travelled to San Jose today to give a speech touting the law’s benefits. But even during that address, Obama acknowledged that some Americans are likely to see their premiums rise, although he encouraged them to blame their employers rather than PPACA.

“Employers may be shifting costs through higher premiums or higher deductibles or higher copays,” he said. “There may still be folks out there who are feeling higher costs.”

Source: NAHU, Washington Update

Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

 

It can be a real challenge for small businesses to provide health insurance to employees. On average, small businesses pay about 18% more than large firms for the same health insurance policy, most likely because small businesses lack the purchasing power depth that large corporations have.

The health care law will offer tax credits for small businesses and in the future the ability to shop for insurance in the new Health Insurance Marketplace, which will help small business out tremendously.

Here are some points from the 2000 page bill that small businesses should be aware with the Affordable Care Act:

 

– If you have fewer than 25 employees, pay average annual wages below $50,000, and provide health insurance, you may qualify for a small business tax credit of up to 35% (up to 25% for non-profits) to offset the cost of your insurance. This will bring down the cost of providing insurance.

 

– Under the health care law, employer-based plans that provide health insurance to retirees ages 55-64 can now get financial help through the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. This program is designed to lower the cost of premiums for all employees and reduce employer health costs.

 

– Starting in 2014, the small business tax credit goes up to 50% (up to 35% for non-profits) for qualifying businesses. This will make the cost of providing insurance even lower.

 

– In 2014, small businesses with generally fewer than 100 employees can shop in the Health Insurance Marketplace, which gives you power similar to what large businesses have to get better choices and lower prices. In the Marketplace, individuals and small businesses can buy affordable health benefit plans. Open enrollment begins on October 1, 2013.

 

– The Marketplace will offer a choice of plans that meet certain benefits and cost standards. Starting in 2014, members of Congress will be getting their health care insurance through the Marketplace, and you will be able to buy your insurance through the Marketplace, too. Find out how you can get ready to enroll.

 

– Employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from new employer responsibility policies. They don’t have to pay an assessment if their employees get tax credits through an Exchange.

These points only scratch the information surface on the Affordable Care Act.

 
 

Learn more about important features of the new health care law and how it can impact your small business.  Contact your Health Care Insurance Group Provider for more information and updates.