Health Savings Accounts Under the Microscope
The current Republican proposals to replace and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) places great emphasis on enhancing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Not everyone is covered under a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP); however, given the current and future costs of healthcare, we anticipate more Americans will enroll in an HDHP by necessity. In order…
My First Response to the New Republican Healthcare Bill
My First Response to the New Republican Healthcare Bill – The first song on my Sirius radio this morning as I drove to work was Sam Cooke’s “A Change is gonna come”. For the last three months, I have anticipated changes in the Affordable Care Act, from the repeal and replace promise, to a more…
Fortune’s Best Employers 2016
Benefits Separate Fortune’s Best Employers from the Pack Fortune Magazine recently released their TOP 100 employers to work for in 2016, and benefits are at the top of the list of reasons why they separate themselves from the pack. Just examining the TOP 2: Google and Acuity Insurance in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and you see some common…
Health Savings Accounts Lead the Change
Health Savings Accounts Lead the Change in 2017. In the first real month if healthcare reform discussion in Washington, new plans are beginning to take shape, but one common denominator exists: The expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Speaker Paul Ryan is leading the charge with plans to provide higher annual limits, more portability, more…
How will Trumpcare change Obamacare ?
I’ve spent the last three weeks engaging clients and prospects with the most important topic in my industry: How will Trumpcare change Obamacare? What impact will it have on my business, my employees, our coverage, my 25 year-old graduate student? While I don’t have any secret inside information, nor am I on twitter, there are…
Medicare Announces 2017 Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles
Medicare Announces 2017 Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. This year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment will increase Medicare costs for beneficiaries. Medicare Part B About 70% of Medicare beneficiaries will pay $109 for their 2017 Part B monthly premiums, a 3.9% increase compared to the past four years. The remaining 30% not “held harmless”…
Getting Ready for Medicare Annual Enrollment? Some tips to share
Are You Getting Ready for Medicare Annual Enrollment? Here are some tips to share. In a little over a month, we batten down the hatches, put our nose to the grindstone, and help hundreds of Medicare Beneficiaries with what is more commonly known as Open Enrollment. October 15 – December 7, 2016 is Medicare’s Annual…
Health Insurance Exchange Preview for 2017
The last few weeks have not been kind to the Healthcare Marketplace and Obamacare as more and more insurance carriers assess their position for 2017. One state after another has announced big increases in the marketplace: North Carolina Blue Cross 8.8%, Blue Cross of Texas 62%, Aetna 25%, and Optima Health of 13.48% in Virginia.…
Affordable Care Act Reality Check
Last year, we began educating our clients on the Employer Shared Responsibility Payments – the penalties associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – and what to expect when the IRS finally caught up and examined premium tax subsidies. In the spring, employers who had 50 or more full-time equivalent employees were required to file…
Going to college? A medical checklist for your child
On Saturday ,my daughter Olivia graduated from High School, and will attend Xavier University in the fall. It is both an exciting and concerned time for this parent who will find his daughter almost 7 hours away from home with some healthcare challenges. My daughter has battled Lupus for the last 6 years, and while…
June 2016 Health Spotlight – Prostate Cancer
My father has battled prostate cancer and the after affects of surgery for over ten years. It’s a tough diagnosis and one that will affect one in seven men nationally. The statistics are overwhelming: About 220,800 new cases of prostate cancer About 27,540 deaths from prostate cancer 1 in 7 will be diagnosed with prostate…
Protect Your Most Valuable Asset
My 20 year-old son, who is a sophomore at the University of Kentucky studying computer engineering , and also an avid sports fan, recently asked me why people purchase disability insurance? Millennials often have no idea of the importance of both life and disability coverage, so I provided a few sports examples like Yao Ming…