Category: Health Insurance
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Health insurance for farm workers
National Public Radio ran a story this month that says that half of the U.S. farm work force is undocumented and that many cannot afford health insurance. My state of New Jersey officially puts the estimate at 70% but I suspect that it may actually be higher, at least in my region. The article says of the…
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Individual health insurance vs. group health insurance
Individual health insurance or group health insurance: which is better for your small business? Small business employers face a surprisingly difficult choice with the most basic of employee health insurance questions: Should the employer offer group health insurance or allow the employees find their own individual health insurance? This is no longer an inconsequential issue since we now…
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How to help employees pay for individual health insurance
Small business employers often help employees afford the cost of individual health insurance rather than enroll employees in the company’s own health insurance policy. This is often the least expensive way to ensure that employees find the best coverage at the lowest price. For employees this employer involvement is often the best way – sometimes the…
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A simple individual health insurance alternative for small contractors
Help is available to convert employer-paid individual health insurance to the new IRS-permitted payment plans Many small businesses do not offer employee health insurance but want to help employees afford their own individual health insurance. Small contracting businesses are among many who formerly paid for or reimbursed part of the cost of individual employee health insurance.…
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Is the Health Insurance Marketplace working?
The number of people who enrolled for Obamacare through the individual Health Insurance Marketplace increased to 12.7 million in 2016 compared to 11.7 million in 2015 and 8 million in 2014. There is growth in the number covered but this growth is not impressive especially when we consider that the number without coverage is growing at a faster pace.…
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Checklist of health care planning issues for financial advisers
This checklist of health care planning issues is meant for financial advisers to consider in 2016 planning: Millions of Americans people who bought their own coverage outside the exchange do not have “minimal essential coverage” (even though they think they do). This has implications for tax preparers as well as financial advisers. Millions of Americans…
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Employer health insurance payments are not wages
Employer-paid health insurance may not be included in employee wages. Doing so, even in error, does not alleviate the employer from possible excise taxes under ACA. This errant accounting practice also creates additional employer tax penalty liabilities for improper reporting of wages. This afternoon I attended a continuing professional education webinar where a fabulous tax expert…
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Explaining the Health Insurance Penalty
Accountants and tax preparers complain that they have been put in the position of enforcing the Affordable Care Act’s insurance mandate without compensation or training as health insurance agents. They are absolutely correct and this system has produced in some bizarre results. This was illustrated when one accountant wrote to me “I have clients that…
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Is my small business required to file Form 1095?
Form 1095 is a new informational tax return that is a requirement incorporated into of the Affordable Care Act. Some small businesses are required to file it for the first time this season. There are three types of Form 1095: 1095A from a Health Insurance Marketplace 1095B usually from an employer (the form discussed below…
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How to provide premium health care planning advice
This post is just an idea, an incomplete thought, a business observation with no clear direction or conclusion. I have no good answer to the headline. For my entire 30+ year working career as a financial adviser I’ve focused on the theme of keeping your personal health in focus as a core of personal financial well-being. Everyone knows…