Health Insurance As It Should Be (Part 1 of 2): Taxes and Regulations
Much speculations evolves around what changes the Trump administration will bring to health care. Although I don’t know why. The basics have been laid out by the Republicans for months. There is some fine tuning that needs to be done, but the core is in place. In addition to the principles that have been laid […]
Big Increase for 2017 Payroll Taxes while Social Security Benefits, Not So Much
The maximum earnings subject to the Social Security* payroll tax will increase by $8,700 in 2017 to $127,200 —up from $118,500. The Jan 1 adjustment is based on the government’s estimate of real wage growth. The 2017 increase in the taxable-earnings cap is the largest one-year increase since 1983. Monthly Social Security benefits will increase a […]
Public Option and Single-Payer: What’s the Difference?
Both of these programs are public health insurance plans, but they are administered very differently and would have drastically different impacts on the healthcare system, A public health insurance plan, also known as a “public option,” is a government-sponsored plan designed to compete alongside private insurers. It is intended to address the market failure where […]
Public Option – Call me a cynic
The New York Times reports the Affordable Care Act may have to change to survive. Bill Clinton calls Obamacare the “Craziest thing in the world.” Bloomberg Politics reports Obama says ACS has “real Problems.” Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to solve out countries insurance woes? Now, before it can be fully implemented – it is being recommended the […]
Useful App: First Aid
Accidents happen. The app was developed by the British Red Cross for everyday first aid. It provides expert advice for everyday emergencies with videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice. Its features include an easy to use Spanish language toggle to switch translation directly inside the app and is fully integrated with 9-1-1 so you […]
Direct Primary Care
Revolutionize health insurance, save states billions and render Obamacare obsolete – that’s the message from the 2016 Direct Primary Care Summit. Under a DPC model, patients pay a monthly membership fee directly to a physician in exchange for preventive care services, consultation by e-mail or phone and in-office procedures and diagnostics. Estimates range from $50 […]
Obamaco$t Coming Home to Roost
The Obama Administration is encouraging young adults to obtain coverage through health insurance marketplaces, which need healthy people to balance sicker ones in the risk pool. Why is this important? Keep reading. Aetna projects over $300 million loss on ACA business and announced that it will stop selling in 11 of the 15 states where […]
ACA in the News
ACA Enrollment Down To About 11.1M – CMS figures show that enrollment under the ACA dropped from 1.6 million people down to 11.1 million. Nearly 85 percent of remaining enrollees, 9.4 million, were receiving tax credits averaging $291 per month to help them pay their premiums. Battle over ACA Continues In Court and In Congress […]
Repealing Obamacare (Part 2of 2) – The Employer Tax Exclusion
The National Association of Health Underwriters (of which Employee Benefit Advisors is a member) and other industry groups support the employer-based healthcare system and have been opponents to eliminating or capping the exclusion and supports a platform that would preserve existing tax incentives for insurance, including the exclusion. Proposals that eliminate the exclusion would push […]
Repealing Obamacare (Part 1 of 2) – Individual Tax Credits
Republicans hope to repeal Obamacare. One plan getting attention is creating a health insurance federal income tax deduction of $7,500 per individual and $20,500 for family. Everyone will be free to use their tax credit to buy the health insurance of their choice, not just the plan their employer provides. A derivative plan recommends a […]