Category: Affordable Care Act
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Did the Republicans really win the health care reform battle?
A strong case can be made that the Republicans have already essentially accomplished much their agenda with regard to health care reform. If we look at what is really happening on ‘Main Street’ and not in DC and ignoring how the law is supposed to work we see: No enforcement against businesses for ACA requirements…
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Trump signals new willingness to work with Obamacare
A new development in the health care reform issue that came out around midnight. In my mind, this news is the most significant news about health care reform in the past several years. We already knew that Americans hate the health care reform bill before Congress for a vote today. One poll by Quinnepiac University…
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Analyzing the impact of Trumpcare
The current proposal plan to replace the Affordable Care Act would transfer $337 billion in costs from the government to the citizens over the next 10 years and leave 14 million more people without insurance next year compared with current law, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released today. The…
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The effect of age-based health insurance
Years ago, in the 1990s and before, health insurance pricing was based on location, health history, sex and age. Young people paid, on average, 1/5 the amount paid by older people. Women generally paid more than men. Fewer choices were available to people with pre-existing medical conditions. Obamacare changed that in 2010. Since then, everyone in…
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Winners and losers under Trumpcare
Who gains and who loses under the “World’s Greatest Healthcare Plan of 2017“? This is my checklist so far: Winners Upper income people under age 50 who will benefit more from the new tax credit Healthy people who do not believe that they should be required to buy insurance because the high premium cost pays for care…
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First look at the Republican health plan
I just finished skimming the 106 page discussion draft of the Republican health plan. I probably understand less that 5% of it but am able to make a few observations. This draft is difficult to comprehend because of the many references to current sections of law. It will take awhile before a third party readable explanation…
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Small Business HRA for 2017
Note added after first publication: The deadline for starting a HRA for retroactive tax treatment is March 30, 2017. HRAs can be started any time for expenses in the future. The most significant tax change affecting small businesses in 2017 is the liberalization of certain types of Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) under the American Cures Act enacted in December 2016.…
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Health care planning for small businesses: 2017
This commentary is based on the February 10 draft outline of the Republican health plan that has not yet been presented to Congress. Of course we expect details to evolve. For fast immediate solutions during the transition period, see my post “Alternatives to Obamacare“. If you operate a small business then proposed changes to health care legislation…
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Alternatives to Obamacare
What are consumers doing right now? I had a great telephone conversation with an experienced health insurance executive today. We talked about the hottest topic in the insurance industry: consumer alternatives to Obamacare. I mentioned that I’ve noticed increased consumer demand for products like Core Health Insurance that do not meet Obamacare standards. We discussed that:…
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A holistic approach to small business benefit plans
Tony Novak, CPA financial planner