Tag: health care

Jun 26 -  The Senate has announced their health care plan -  the BETTER CARE RECONCILIATION ACT (BCRA) - which is in line with the house bill described in the previous update, with key changes being made to appease more moderate Republicans. NPR.org has a nice summary comparing Obamacare, AHCA (House bill)…

With open enrollment for health insurance plans underway there have been a number of conflicting news reports about the status of ObamaCare and potentially dramatic increases in health insurance costs for the coming year. Here we’re going to explore 4 potentially major changes to ObamaCare in 2017 and beyond: There Will…

[2016 updates] 2016 health insurance premiums under the state and federal health care system (Affordable Care Act) are rising. No doubt about that. The question is by how much. Recent reports and have a broad range (from 6% to 15%) as health insurance companies have started submitting requests to the regulator (insurance…

The Premium Tax Credit (PTC) allows you offset the monthly premium costs of health care plans purchased via official exchanges or government health insurance marketplaces. For nearly 5 million households, the PTC completely offsets their monthly premium (free health insurance!). Another 10 million benefit with reduced health care premiums. The PTC…

[Updated] Will i still have to pay health insurance penalties (under the Obamacare individual mandate)? This is the question a lot of Americans are asking. The short answer is NO from 2019.  Here is why the individual mandate, a.k.a Obamacare penalty, is no longer in effect from 2019: While Congressional Republicans…

As part of new regulations under Obama's health care legislation the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today took the next steps to establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges – one-stop marketplaces where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their…

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) have been around for a while now and many families use them as a tax advantaged way to save for health care and dependent care related costs. However every year various limits associated with FSA accounts are reviewed by the IRS and adjusted based on statue or for…

There’s a great deal of talk today about the “graying of America.” Thanks to advances in medical technology, many people are now living 20 or more years beyond normal retirement age. However, quite a few of these people must deal with poor health during those years. And, the increased longevity,…

With the passage of health care reform, a major political achievement for the Obama administration, Americans will finally start seeing the actual impacts of many of these new laws. These changes will only initially impact people who buy new policies or are in plans where the coverage year is about to…

Congress and the Obama administration's fiscal cliff deal means that 2013 federal tax rates will remain fixed for nearly 99% of the population. Only those earning $450,000/$400,000 (married/single) AGI will have a higher marginal tax rate in 2013, relative to 2012 levels. Below are the likely 2013 tax rates and inflation…

There has been a lot of debate over health care reform the past year and how to control rising health care costs.  While many experts are unsure whether the passed health care legislation will actually control costs, Americans can still work to control their own medical costs by shopping around…

Even though President Obama and Congress have signed into law sweeping health care reform many employees are still in the dark about how their employer sponsored health care benefits will be affected and wondering when new provisions in the approved health care bills will go into effect. Rather than reading…

[Update] The government is starting to mail out the tax free $250 medicare gap  checks to seniors who fall into the program's gap in prescription drug coverage. This so called Medicare "doughnut hole," payment (detailed below) was part of the recently enacted Health care reform bill. If you have Medicare prescription…