It’s formally known as King v Burwell and its time has come. Beginning on March 4th, the Supreme Court will hear arguments that challenge the meaning of four key words in the ACA: “established by the state”. These words refer to health insurance exchanges—why are these words so critical? What are the consequences of the… Continue reading The Supreme Court vs Obamacare Part Two: What You Need to Know
How could that be? Health insurance is now mandatory. Why should health plans be subject to a luxury tax? Beginning in 2018, employers that provide high-cost benefits through an employer sponsored group health plan will be subject to an Affordable Care Act (ACA) created excise tax, also known as the “Cadillac” luxury tax on these… Continue reading Is Your Health Insurance a Luxury?
In a few short weeks, October will be upon us and with it, the Open Enrollment season for employee benefits. In addition to the alphabet soup of health insurance coverage options, there are new provisions of the ACA to consider. Selecting a plan from these options has become increasingly difficult as the provisions seem to… Continue reading Coming Soon: HMO, PPO, EPO, POS and ACA
If an individual or family decides to forego health insurance, is there a penalty tax? What is the exact figure? It seems that computing this tax may be a bit more complicated than has been portrayed in many publications. Who precisely is subject to this tax and when is it assessed? The Obamacare individual mandate… Continue reading Affordable Care Act Penalty Tax: Yes, No, Maybe?
Is anyone really sure who is paying for healthcare? Who paid before the Affordable Care Act? Who is paying for it now? Let’s see if we can clarify this for everyone…. Premiums are fully paid though my paycheck for my employer sponsored plan.Unlikely. Probably not even close. Last year, the average cost of family coverage… Continue reading Who is Really Paying for Health Care: Four Myths
If you’re a participant in an employer sponsored health plan, you may begin to see “reference pricing” as a component of your health insurance coverage. Does this mean that policyholders consult reference materials to learn about coverage? Not exactly, but the concept of reference pricing, which was given the green light by the Obama administration,… Continue reading Check Your Health Insurance at the Reference Library
It’s routine now to hear high school seniors meandering in the hallways of their schools discussing what they are doing next year. College? Gap year? Other plans? On college campuses around the country students are planning for their graduations and their futures: Job? Graduate School? Don’t know yet? If you have children that fall into… Continue reading The ACA for my college age kids
March 31st, Obamacare, ACA, healthcare.gov……..open enrollment is over. Well, at least for those who don’t meet the exception qualifications. The dust has settled. But has it really? How many individuals are newly insured through the exchanges? Newly insured through employers? Still uninsured? Can they even be accurately counted? Early returns would indicate that more than… Continue reading March 31st Madness Has Come and Gone: Now What?
As out-of-pocket costs increase and consumer driven health plans become more prevalent, individual health insurance costs are more than just premiums. Is there such a thing as supplemental insurance from an employer or an exchange plan that would cover additional non premium expenses that individuals incur while owning health insurance? It is widely recognized that… Continue reading Can You Reduce Your Health Coverage Out of Pocket Expenses?
The essential benefits requirement of individual and small business health insurance plans has been one of the most well publicized components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Within the ten categories is the inclusion of rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices. Is it likely that previously non covered habilitative services–for the developmentally challenged with autism,… Continue reading Ten Essential Benefits: Rehabilitative AND Habilitative Services?
