Do you completely understand the Medicare enrollment periods? If so, you’re among the minority. This article is a quick reference for you.
health plans
A New-Hire Checklist
Starting a new job can be very overwhelming. Often, new-hires go through a barrage of training, information overload and multiple booklets covering procedures, processes and application. Somewhere in that mix is the benefit package. Here is where the new employee can sign up for important health insurance coverage, retirement savings plans, and other benefits such as life insurance and disability. In the stress and whirlwind of the on-boarding process, sometimes benefits can get pushed to the side, and then after time, forgotten about. Here’s a checklist of what a new employee can do to make sure they sign up for these precious benefits and some information on how to move forward. Select the appropriate health coverage. Some employers have one carrier that provides coverage with different options from that carrier. Options may include HMO, PPO or HSA plans. The premiums the employee pays will depend on the deductibles in the […]
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Lose Your Health Insurance? COBRA May Help
Former employees recently let go from their job may find themselves wondering what options they have to continue their employer provided health insurance. Generally, an employee is allowed to continue their coverage from loss of employment due to voluntary or involuntary termination, disability, reductions in hours, death, divorce, or becoming eligible for Medicare. The length of time an individual has to remain on COBRA depends on the reason why they lost coverage from their employer. For example, if an employee is terminated either voluntarily or involuntarily he or she will have up to 18 months of coverage. In the event of death, divorce or becoming eligible for Medicare, the length of time is 36 months. In the event an employee becomes disabled, the length of time is 29 months. The reason for such an odd number is that in order to become eligible for Medicare from disability the individual must […]
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A Consequence of the Affordable Care Act
As much as I wanted to put the word unintended before consequence in my title, I had a hard time believing that what I’m about to write about was unintended. As many of you are aware, the Affordable Care Act a.k.a. “Obamacare” is the law passed that requires, among other things, that everyone carry health insurance, subject to some specific exclusions. What I want to talk about is how this affected my insurance specifically and likely affected the insurance of many others. Before the Act was passed my family and I enjoyed health insurance through our HSA. A health savings account allows a person or family to have a high deductible health insurance plan while also making tax deductible contributions to an account that can amass funds for medical expenses. Funds from the account that pay for qualified medical expenses are tax free. Self-employed individuals can also deduct their health […]
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Who Will Be The Biggest Benefactors of Obamacare?
According to data cited in a recent WSJ article (The Health-Care Overhaul: What You Need to Know), there is a specific demographic that should benefit the most from the up-coming institution of the Affordable Care Act’s changes to the healthcare system. If you’re wondering why this writing seems a bit smug, it’s because I’m one of these projected benefactors: folks between age 50 and 64. Why is this group deemed the most likely to benefit? It has to do with some current realities about our nation’s health and the way that the (current and proposed) health insurance marketplace works. First of all, folks in this age group who are not covered by an employer plan, or are not covered by Medicaid, must find insurance in the private marketplace. And the reality is that folks who’ve seen half a century of life or more are typically in poorer health than younger […]
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The ABC’s (and D’s) of Medicare
With more and more baby boomers retiring, more and more people including the Boomers, and their children and families are going to have questions and concerns about Medicare. Questions can range from what Medicare is, what it does, what it doesn’t do, and the nuances that make up our nation’s health care for retirees. Medicare was created in 1965 by the Social Security Act and was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. Currently, Medicare is funded via taxation and premiums paid by Medicare subscriber. Part A – which we will cover in a future article, is funded by a 2.9% tax on wages. Unlike Social Security tax that has a limit or cap on the amount of income that can be taxed ($110,100 in 2012 and $113,700 in 2013), Medicare has no such wage base. The 2.9% tax is on an unlimited amount of earnings. Eligibility for Medicare typically starts for […]
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Health Savings Account Limits for 2013 Published
The IRS recently distributed information about the adjustments to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for 2013. These limits adjust annually based upon inflation calculations (if inflation is present). For 2013, the annual contribution limit for self-only coverage is $3,250, which is an increase of $150 over the figure for 2012. For an individual with family coverage, the limit in 2013 is increased by $200 to $6,450. The deductibles for HSA accounts are also increased in 2013: $1,250 for self-only coverage, and $2,500 for family coverage. This is an increase of $50 and $100 for each deductible, respectively. Lastly, the out-of-pocket expense limit for self-only coverage is $6,250 in 2013, an increase of $200. Family coverage out-of-pocket maximum is $12,500 (up from $12,100 in 2012). This limit is for deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums.
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The “Tax on Sale of Your Home” Email Myth
Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr If you have an email address (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you’ve likely received this email. In case you haven’t received it, there’s an email that is being forwarded around the internet about a new tax on selling your home – I get at least one of these a month it seems. I’ve copied the text of one of the emails below. This article is to help you understand why the email is a misguided myth, partly grounded in truth but not applicable for most folks. The email is usually forwarded at least a half-dozen times by the time you receive it, making it difficult to know where it started from. In addition, the text of the email is often in large, bold, red font in places, such that you can almost feel the spittle coming off the page at you. Here’s the […]
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Health Insurance Tax Tips for the Self-Employed
The following list comes to you from the folks over at eHealthInsurance.com: New this year! Take a one-time opportunity to reduce your self-employment taxes – In addition to the standard ‘above the line’ deduction described below, self-employed persons can also deduct the cost of their health insurance premiums from their self-employment taxes on Schedule SE. This is a one-time-only opportunity available for 2010 taxes, so if you’re self-employed be sure to take advantage of it. Image via Wikipedia Deduct health insurance premiums as a business expense – If you had self-employment income, you may also be able to deduct health insurance premiums you paid for yourself and your dependents as an ‘above the line’ business expense (that is, without itemizing) on your federal tax return. Be aware, however, that you may not deduct premiums paid for any month in which you were eligible to participate in an employer-sponsored health insurance […]
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March 15 is the Deadline for FSA Claims
If you’re a participant in your employer’s Flex-Spending Account plan (FSA), whether for health-care or dependent care cost reimbursement, you have a limited amount of time to claim the monies that have been set aside in your plan. The way these plans work is that you voluntarily decrease your income by a certain amount, generally paycheck by paycheck, and that amount is placed in a separate account. Over the course of the calendar year, you can request reimbursement from your FSA funds for qualified expenses that you’ve incurred. If it’s a health-care FSA account, you can request reimbursement for your healthcare deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance costs – literally any health-care expense that is not covered (paid) by other insurance. There are limits, though: beginning with 2011, you cannot be reimbursed for non-prescription (over the counter) medications. If the FSA account is for dependent-care expenses, you can request reimbursement for your […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.