I know I said I would go into definitions on what to look for in disability insurance, but some new information came across the Associated Press this week about the Health Care Bill and I think it is important enough to share. I will explain this news as best as I can. Click here to see the article.
Most people have predicted this health care bill will cost, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), over 1 trillion dollars. The reason it will increase that amount so much more than what was told is because the funding was not included for the enforcement of the law. If you recall, a few weeks ago I explained that if you didnt get health care the IRS could not come after your assets to fine you. This was because there were no provisions that funded the agency to do so. According to Kenneth Baer, a spokesman for the White House budget agency, "Authorizations for discretionary spending are not expenditures." The "descretionary spending" that Mr. Baer is referring to is the costs to allow federal agencies to enforce the penalties. So the CBO could not include these costs in the original bill due to the fact that the enforcement was considered "descretionary spending" and not"expenditures".
According to this same article, costs could go higher because the legislation authorizes several programs without setting specific funding levels. We were told that this would help reduce federal deficit by $143 billion. I just dont see this happening due to the fact that there are now these descretionary spending "add-ons".
President Obama did say when they were trying to get this passed that if this bill goes past the $1 trillion mark, or adds a dime to the deficit, he would veto it.
If you would like to see the CBO report, click here.
On this, we will just have to wait and see.
In other related information there are now 19 states that are in the lawsuit suing the federal government over this health care bill. If you would like to read the lawsuit you can find it here.
Information gathered from the Associated Press.
Unless anything else develops within the healthcare legislation I will go into definitions for you next week and discuss what to look for in your disability policy.
As always, if you have had your health insurance for more than a year or two, you are likely paying too much. Contact us so to learn how much money we may save you.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Disability Insurance: Friend or Foe?
Ok, so last week I spoke to you about health insurance and what to look out for. This week, I want to go into disability insurance. I know this can be boring; but, just bear with me and I will show you why it's so important.
Disability insurance really does have a bad rap just due to the fact that no one thinks that they could become disabled, and so, therefore, think that it's a waste of money. A lot of people know that they could get sick or even die, but a majority of people don't think they could become disabled. Disability insurance helps protect your income if you become disabled. There are several different choices you have when it comes to disability insurance. Before I present those options, I want to talk about our hypothetical client, 'John', again.
If you would like to see what it would cost to protect your income "just in case" please click here. There is no obligation - just an opportunity to see what it would cost to protect yourself completely.
Disability insurance really does have a bad rap just due to the fact that no one thinks that they could become disabled, and so, therefore, think that it's a waste of money. A lot of people know that they could get sick or even die, but a majority of people don't think they could become disabled. Disability insurance helps protect your income if you become disabled. There are several different choices you have when it comes to disability insurance. Before I present those options, I want to talk about our hypothetical client, 'John', again.
Here is the scenario:
John is 34 years old and has an income of $80,000. He has a mortgage on a house that, if he were to sell it today, would get him $200,000. He has a business that he could sell for $1.4 million. He also has 2 rental properties worth $300,000. He owns 2 cars with a value of $30,000 for both. He has a life insurance policy for $1 million in the event of his death. He also carries health insurance.
John's assets (including his life insurance policy) total just over $3 million dollars. Now, let's look at each asset individually for a second. His primary residence is worth $200,000. He has lived there for 8 years. Now, like most of us who own our homes, he carries insurance on this house in case of fire, flood or natural disaster. So, why does John carry this insurance? If his house burned down the insurance company would cut a check for the value of the house. I have a question... How many houses in John's neighborhood have burned down in the last 8 years? Realistically: none. But, he still keeps the insurance "just in case" to protect it in case that does happen.
Let's look at his business. He currently carries insurance on his business in case of fire, flood, or natural disaster as well. He also carries liability insurance in case someone gets hurt or injured at the work site. He also has insurance for theft of property. Now, John has had his business for 10 years and has had nothing happen to him where he had to file any claims on his carrier for these issues. Again, he carries this insurance "just in case".
As for his rental properties, he has insurance for those for the same reasons. Just in case...
Car insurance, I understand, is a little different. If he is financing the cars (which we will assume he does) he has to have full coverage on them because the lender wants their property to be protected in case he is involved in an accident.
What asset have we listed that has no protection? His income. (That income, by the way, pays for all his other assets.)
Let's assume just for a second that John does get into a car accident. Did you know that, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2008 there were a total of 347,113 car accidents. Of the 347,113 accidents 30% were serious injury accidents. These were people that were hospitalized 90 days or longer. Just a couple of questions. Who was driving John's car that has insurance? John. Who spent 90 days in the hospital that had health insurance to pay the doctors, food, clothing and shelter? John. Who was able to pay John's bills while he was hospitalized for those 90 days? No one. Who paid John's bills for the next 12 to 18 months while he was going through physically therapy? No one. So if in this scenario John was hospitalized and had to go through physical therapy, what would he have when he came out of the hospital? Probably nothing.
So as you can see, disability insurance is just as important as your health life and property insurance. The cost for a good disability plan has several factors, such as type of occupation. If you're a doctor, your rates would be less than someone who washes windows, for example.
John is 34 years old and has an income of $80,000. He has a mortgage on a house that, if he were to sell it today, would get him $200,000. He has a business that he could sell for $1.4 million. He also has 2 rental properties worth $300,000. He owns 2 cars with a value of $30,000 for both. He has a life insurance policy for $1 million in the event of his death. He also carries health insurance.
John's assets (including his life insurance policy) total just over $3 million dollars. Now, let's look at each asset individually for a second. His primary residence is worth $200,000. He has lived there for 8 years. Now, like most of us who own our homes, he carries insurance on this house in case of fire, flood or natural disaster. So, why does John carry this insurance? If his house burned down the insurance company would cut a check for the value of the house. I have a question... How many houses in John's neighborhood have burned down in the last 8 years? Realistically: none. But, he still keeps the insurance "just in case" to protect it in case that does happen.
Let's look at his business. He currently carries insurance on his business in case of fire, flood, or natural disaster as well. He also carries liability insurance in case someone gets hurt or injured at the work site. He also has insurance for theft of property. Now, John has had his business for 10 years and has had nothing happen to him where he had to file any claims on his carrier for these issues. Again, he carries this insurance "just in case".
As for his rental properties, he has insurance for those for the same reasons. Just in case...
Car insurance, I understand, is a little different. If he is financing the cars (which we will assume he does) he has to have full coverage on them because the lender wants their property to be protected in case he is involved in an accident.
What asset have we listed that has no protection? His income. (That income, by the way, pays for all his other assets.)
Let's assume just for a second that John does get into a car accident. Did you know that, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, in 2008 there were a total of 347,113 car accidents. Of the 347,113 accidents 30% were serious injury accidents. These were people that were hospitalized 90 days or longer. Just a couple of questions. Who was driving John's car that has insurance? John. Who spent 90 days in the hospital that had health insurance to pay the doctors, food, clothing and shelter? John. Who was able to pay John's bills while he was hospitalized for those 90 days? No one. Who paid John's bills for the next 12 to 18 months while he was going through physically therapy? No one. So if in this scenario John was hospitalized and had to go through physical therapy, what would he have when he came out of the hospital? Probably nothing.
So as you can see, disability insurance is just as important as your health life and property insurance. The cost for a good disability plan has several factors, such as type of occupation. If you're a doctor, your rates would be less than someone who washes windows, for example.
There are numerous plans that you can choose from as well.
Next week I will explain and describe what to look for in a disability plan, such as elimination periods, benefit periods, your own occupation, etc...
If you have disability insurance now it's very important you read what the definitions are in the policy. For example, how does your policy describe what a disability is? Does your plan say that you have to be a quadriplegic before it pays out? Or, does it read that it will pay out if you simply can't do your normal duties? I will get into this a lot more next week.
Next week I will explain and describe what to look for in a disability plan, such as elimination periods, benefit periods, your own occupation, etc...
If you have disability insurance now it's very important you read what the definitions are in the policy. For example, how does your policy describe what a disability is? Does your plan say that you have to be a quadriplegic before it pays out? Or, does it read that it will pay out if you simply can't do your normal duties? I will get into this a lot more next week.
If you would like to see what it would cost to protect your income "just in case" please click here. There is no obligation - just an opportunity to see what it would cost to protect yourself completely.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
What to look for in health insurance...
I know, I know... It's been a week since I have updated this. There really hasn't been much happening with the Health Care bill lately. Most of what I have been reporting on is about all that we still know. We just need to see what happens with the states filing Federal lawsuits about the constitutionality of it all.
What I want to do this week is change gears a little and talk to you about your current health plan. A lot of people trust that agents will have their customers' best interest at heart. But, what I see a lot of times is that some agents are looking out for their own best interest. This week, I want to explain how Health plans work, what to look out for and what to run from.
First, if someone is offering you a health care plan that you're not familiar with please check them out via the Texas Department of Insurance company look-up link. This will give you information on how many complaints have been filed, what their financial stability looks like and, most of all, how long they have been selling in the state of Texas. You can also click here to look up your agent to see how long they have been licensed as well as who they are appointed through.
Texas is one of the few states that allows many different companies to offer their products. If you recall during the debates about health care reform, some states only allow 1 or 2 companies to offer products. This is why Congress really wanted to have more competition; because some of the Representatives come from those states that only allow 1 or 2 companies in. Now, this is a whole different issue that I can get into later... for now, lets talk about what to look for in your health plan.
Each family or group has their own needs and you really need to make sure the plan your agent offers meets those needs. There are a lot of different plans you can choose from so it's very important that you let your agent know what you're looking for.
You need to decide what is more important: keeping the monthly cost low or receiving more benefits. One of the things you need to ask yourself is "how many times do I go to the doctor per year?" If this is a simple once or twice a year for check-ups, there are plans that only allow 1 or 2 doctor visits a year. This will help keep your monthly costs down.
The next question is "how much money do I have saved in case of an emergency?" This will tie in to your plan 2 ways. The first and foremost is your deductible. The higher the deductible, the less risk the insurance company is going to have to pay out on a large claim, thus lowering your monthly premium. The 2nd way this ties in is on your co-insurance. (I will explain this in a few minutes.) Can you pay 30% after your deductible or is 20% going to work for you in your situation?
Now, companies do have a stop loss on their plan, this is the most you would be out on any given claim after your deductible. Let me explain...
John gets into a serious car accident. He is in the hospital for 3 months and his total bill is $40,000. His insurance plan has a $5,000 deductible and an 80/20 plan (meaning the insurance carrier pays 80% and John pays 20% after the deductible). Of the $40k that is owed, John has to pay the first $5,000, leaving a balance of $35,000. The insurance carrier will pay 80% of the $35,000 and John is responsible for the 20%. This leaves John with a payout of $7,000. So, in total, John has to pay out $12,000 of the $40,000 owed. Right?
Not really. Because as I said before, the insurance carrier has a stop loss (it depends on the carrier and the plan) of $3,000 of the 20%. So, all he has to pay out is $8,000 instead of $12,000.
Simple example of John's costs:
Bill $40,000
Deductible $5,000
Balance $35,000
20% of $35,000 = $7000
John's Stop-Loss = $3,000 maximum instead of the full $7,000
Total out-of-pocket for John is $8,000
Now, there are little things you can adjust on your plan to keep costs low as well. You can get a higher doctor co-pay, have a deductible for your prescriptions, and get a higher co-pay for those prescriptions.
I will always recommend that people get an agent to show these plans just because if you don't know what you're doing - and I have seen it happen too many times - you will wind up with a plan that will not pay out what you think it will and then you will be upset with the carrier. As agents, we get you the same rates that you can get directly through the carriers. It doesn't cost you any more to have an agent work for you. So, why would you try to navigate these plans yourself?
In closing, I would also recommend that your agent show you 2-3 plans from a couple of carriers and you choose which one is best for you. If the agent only shows you one company, it should raise several flags. He or she should have 2-3 carriers, even though one may be higher than the other, just to show you that they shopped the market and this is what they came up with.
As always, I do offer personal and group consultations to review your plans at no charge. If you want to make sure you're in the best possible plan, please click here and schedule your free consultation.
What I want to do this week is change gears a little and talk to you about your current health plan. A lot of people trust that agents will have their customers' best interest at heart. But, what I see a lot of times is that some agents are looking out for their own best interest. This week, I want to explain how Health plans work, what to look out for and what to run from.
First, if someone is offering you a health care plan that you're not familiar with please check them out via the Texas Department of Insurance company look-up link. This will give you information on how many complaints have been filed, what their financial stability looks like and, most of all, how long they have been selling in the state of Texas. You can also click here to look up your agent to see how long they have been licensed as well as who they are appointed through.
Texas is one of the few states that allows many different companies to offer their products. If you recall during the debates about health care reform, some states only allow 1 or 2 companies to offer products. This is why Congress really wanted to have more competition; because some of the Representatives come from those states that only allow 1 or 2 companies in. Now, this is a whole different issue that I can get into later... for now, lets talk about what to look for in your health plan.
Each family or group has their own needs and you really need to make sure the plan your agent offers meets those needs. There are a lot of different plans you can choose from so it's very important that you let your agent know what you're looking for.
You need to decide what is more important: keeping the monthly cost low or receiving more benefits. One of the things you need to ask yourself is "how many times do I go to the doctor per year?" If this is a simple once or twice a year for check-ups, there are plans that only allow 1 or 2 doctor visits a year. This will help keep your monthly costs down.
The next question is "how much money do I have saved in case of an emergency?" This will tie in to your plan 2 ways. The first and foremost is your deductible. The higher the deductible, the less risk the insurance company is going to have to pay out on a large claim, thus lowering your monthly premium. The 2nd way this ties in is on your co-insurance. (I will explain this in a few minutes.) Can you pay 30% after your deductible or is 20% going to work for you in your situation?
Now, companies do have a stop loss on their plan, this is the most you would be out on any given claim after your deductible. Let me explain...
John gets into a serious car accident. He is in the hospital for 3 months and his total bill is $40,000. His insurance plan has a $5,000 deductible and an 80/20 plan (meaning the insurance carrier pays 80% and John pays 20% after the deductible). Of the $40k that is owed, John has to pay the first $5,000, leaving a balance of $35,000. The insurance carrier will pay 80% of the $35,000 and John is responsible for the 20%. This leaves John with a payout of $7,000. So, in total, John has to pay out $12,000 of the $40,000 owed. Right?
Not really. Because as I said before, the insurance carrier has a stop loss (it depends on the carrier and the plan) of $3,000 of the 20%. So, all he has to pay out is $8,000 instead of $12,000.
Simple example of John's costs:
Bill $40,000
Deductible $5,000
Balance $35,000
20% of $35,000 = $7000
John's Stop-Loss = $3,000 maximum instead of the full $7,000
Total out-of-pocket for John is $8,000
Now, there are little things you can adjust on your plan to keep costs low as well. You can get a higher doctor co-pay, have a deductible for your prescriptions, and get a higher co-pay for those prescriptions.
I will always recommend that people get an agent to show these plans just because if you don't know what you're doing - and I have seen it happen too many times - you will wind up with a plan that will not pay out what you think it will and then you will be upset with the carrier. As agents, we get you the same rates that you can get directly through the carriers. It doesn't cost you any more to have an agent work for you. So, why would you try to navigate these plans yourself?
In closing, I would also recommend that your agent show you 2-3 plans from a couple of carriers and you choose which one is best for you. If the agent only shows you one company, it should raise several flags. He or she should have 2-3 carriers, even though one may be higher than the other, just to show you that they shopped the market and this is what they came up with.
As always, I do offer personal and group consultations to review your plans at no charge. If you want to make sure you're in the best possible plan, please click here and schedule your free consultation.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Health Care Bill: What's in it for us?
I explained last week what the time-frame for the bill is. This week I want to try to explain what's in it for us.
As you read on my timeline last week, starting this year (probably around November) insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. This could be a really good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I will explain in a moment. The insurance companies will no longer be allowed to put lifetime caps on plans. You will be allowed to keep your children on your plan until the age of 26 instead of the age of 21. Insurance carriers will be required to offer preventative care to help catch diseases earlier.
I want to talk about the pre-existing clause for a moment; so, bear with me as I rant about this. If you are someone that has a pre-existing condition there are a couple of things you need to know. First, your rates will still be high due to the fact that the "exchange" you get it from will have mostly "sick" people in it. This is nothing more (in my opinion) than a glorified high risk pool (which most states have, by the way). Second, there are minimums that the health care providers have to offer. These will be very basic plans that have very high deductibles, probably no co-pays, and prescription cards that have separate deductibles on them as well. Now you will be able to "buy" up to a better plan that has lower deductibles. But, you will have to pay huge prices for those things.
Now let me throw out a scenario:
There is a guy that is 25 years old, self-employed, never goes to the doctor, works out, eats right and really does a great job of maintaining his health. One day, he gets really bad cramps in his abdomen and decides he needs to have it checked out. He goes to the doctor, pays out-of-pocket because it's cheaper for him to pay a $300.00 doctor bill twice a year than to pay $300 a month for insurance. The doctor tells him his appendix is about to burst and they need to operate. This will cost him $10,000. The patient says he doesn't have that kind of money available. The doctor tells him not to worry, to go to the exchange and get health insurance. Once the operation is done he can drop it, the doctor says. He agrees, signs up for the best plan available, and has the operation then cancels his policy.
Now, using this scenario you're probably asking yourself, "What about the mandate of having health insurance"? Well, I just read that the IRS has no authority to place liens or seizures for failing to have health insurance. All they can do is take the fines out of your refund check. So, if you're self employed and you have no refund check, you don't have to pay the fine.
If you can't see where I am going with this stay with me. OK, so we have established that the patient can get health insurance through the exchange, have the surgery, then cancel his policy the next month.
This is going to have a domino effect. The insurer just paid out $10,000 for a surgery that someone only paid 2 months worth of premiums for. Now the insurance company won't be able to recoup that cost because they are only going to be able to charge so much on these exchanges. This will then cost the insurance carrier more money, so they have to cut their costs and start laying people off. Once the layoff is done and they have more people taking advantage of the system it will push the carrier out of business. Then, Washington will come in and say "You know what? We can't have all these people without insurance so we need to offer it to them." So now comes into play the whole scenario for universal, government-run health care.
All of this being said, my goal today is to make folks aware of situations that most people don't think about and I really hope I have done that for you today. I will be adding more stuff about this next week so be sure to check back with me. If you have any questions please contact me.
Also, I deal with a variety of insurance companies and it is likely that I can save you money on your current health insurance. If you have been with the same company for more than a year, you really are paying too much. Please contact me to let me see if I can save you money. If I only save you $50.00 a month or more, wouldn't it be worth it? Click here for a free assessment and more information.
As you read on my timeline last week, starting this year (probably around November) insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. This could be a really good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I will explain in a moment. The insurance companies will no longer be allowed to put lifetime caps on plans. You will be allowed to keep your children on your plan until the age of 26 instead of the age of 21. Insurance carriers will be required to offer preventative care to help catch diseases earlier.
I want to talk about the pre-existing clause for a moment; so, bear with me as I rant about this. If you are someone that has a pre-existing condition there are a couple of things you need to know. First, your rates will still be high due to the fact that the "exchange" you get it from will have mostly "sick" people in it. This is nothing more (in my opinion) than a glorified high risk pool (which most states have, by the way). Second, there are minimums that the health care providers have to offer. These will be very basic plans that have very high deductibles, probably no co-pays, and prescription cards that have separate deductibles on them as well. Now you will be able to "buy" up to a better plan that has lower deductibles. But, you will have to pay huge prices for those things.
Now let me throw out a scenario:
There is a guy that is 25 years old, self-employed, never goes to the doctor, works out, eats right and really does a great job of maintaining his health. One day, he gets really bad cramps in his abdomen and decides he needs to have it checked out. He goes to the doctor, pays out-of-pocket because it's cheaper for him to pay a $300.00 doctor bill twice a year than to pay $300 a month for insurance. The doctor tells him his appendix is about to burst and they need to operate. This will cost him $10,000. The patient says he doesn't have that kind of money available. The doctor tells him not to worry, to go to the exchange and get health insurance. Once the operation is done he can drop it, the doctor says. He agrees, signs up for the best plan available, and has the operation then cancels his policy.
Now, using this scenario you're probably asking yourself, "What about the mandate of having health insurance"? Well, I just read that the IRS has no authority to place liens or seizures for failing to have health insurance. All they can do is take the fines out of your refund check. So, if you're self employed and you have no refund check, you don't have to pay the fine.
If you can't see where I am going with this stay with me. OK, so we have established that the patient can get health insurance through the exchange, have the surgery, then cancel his policy the next month.
This is going to have a domino effect. The insurer just paid out $10,000 for a surgery that someone only paid 2 months worth of premiums for. Now the insurance company won't be able to recoup that cost because they are only going to be able to charge so much on these exchanges. This will then cost the insurance carrier more money, so they have to cut their costs and start laying people off. Once the layoff is done and they have more people taking advantage of the system it will push the carrier out of business. Then, Washington will come in and say "You know what? We can't have all these people without insurance so we need to offer it to them." So now comes into play the whole scenario for universal, government-run health care.
All of this being said, my goal today is to make folks aware of situations that most people don't think about and I really hope I have done that for you today. I will be adding more stuff about this next week so be sure to check back with me. If you have any questions please contact me.
Also, I deal with a variety of insurance companies and it is likely that I can save you money on your current health insurance. If you have been with the same company for more than a year, you really are paying too much. Please contact me to let me see if I can save you money. If I only save you $50.00 a month or more, wouldn't it be worth it? Click here for a free assessment and more information.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Health Care Bill : What's in it?
I told you last week I would let you know what this new health care bill would do for you and your family and here it is. If you have questions please don't hesitate to let me know by clicking here.
Before I get started, I want to give you this link that will direct you to the bill itself. I will try to summarize as much of it as possible; the problem we will have is that no one really knows everything in this bill and it could be years before it is all out to see where we stand. Our leaders even openly admit they did not know what was in this before they even voted on it. (Click here to see a video of Nancy Pelosi admitting she did know what was in it.) That being said, here is what we know so far:
The total cost over ten years is 940 billion dollars, according to CBO estimates it would reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years. My opinion on this is that this is a little over-exaggerated due to the fact that we will be paying taxes into this in the next 4-5 years and not seeing any real benefit for that time frame. So, yes, it will be reducing the deficit because they have the money (our higher taxes) coming in but nothing going out.
Here is the time frame for the bill:
2010
2017
Now next week, as I research this more, I will try to explain more about what's in it, possibly some of the hype that's true and not true. Keep following my blog to keep informed.
Again, if you want to see if I can save you some money on your current health plan please click here.
Also, rates for life insurance have never been lower click here for a free quote.
Before I get started, I want to give you this link that will direct you to the bill itself. I will try to summarize as much of it as possible; the problem we will have is that no one really knows everything in this bill and it could be years before it is all out to see where we stand. Our leaders even openly admit they did not know what was in this before they even voted on it. (Click here to see a video of Nancy Pelosi admitting she did know what was in it.) That being said, here is what we know so far:
The total cost over ten years is 940 billion dollars, according to CBO estimates it would reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the first ten years. My opinion on this is that this is a little over-exaggerated due to the fact that we will be paying taxes into this in the next 4-5 years and not seeing any real benefit for that time frame. So, yes, it will be reducing the deficit because they have the money (our higher taxes) coming in but nothing going out.
Here is the time frame for the bill:
2010
Coverage
- Subsidies begin for small businesses to provide coverage to employees.
- Insurance companies barred from denying coverage to children with pre-existing illness.
- Children permitted to stay on their parents' insurance policies until their 26th birthday.
Coverage
- Set up long-term care program under which people pay premiums into system for at least five years and become eligible for support payments if they need assistance in daily living.
Taxes and fees
- Drug makers face annual fee of $2.5 billion (rises in subsequent years).
Taxes and fees
- New Medicare taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and couples filing jointly earning more than $250,000 a year.
- Tax on wages rises to 2.35% from 1.45%.
- New 3.8% tax on unearned income such as dividends and interest.
- Excise tax of 2.3% imposed on sale of medical devices.
Cost control
- Medicare pilot program begins to test bundled payments for care, in a bid to pay for quality rather than quantity of services.
Coverage
- Create exchanges where people without employer coverage, as well as small businesses, can shop for health coverage. Insurance companies barred from denying coverage to anyone with pre-existing illness.
- Requirement begins for most people to have health insurance. Subsidies begin for lower and middle-income people. People at 133% of federal poverty level pay maximum of 3% of income for coverage. People at 400% of poverty level pay up to 9.5% of income. (Poverty level currently is about $22,000 for a family of four.)
- Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor, expands to all Americans with income up to 133% of federal poverty level.
- Subsidies for small businesses to provide coverage increase. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees and average annual wages of less than $25,000 receive tax credit of up to 50% of employer's contribution. Tax credits phase out for larger businesses.
Taxes and fees
- Employers with more than 50 employees that don't provide affordable coverage must pay a fine if employees receive tax credits to buy insurance. Fine is up to $3,000 per employee, excluding first 30 employees.
- Insurance industry must pay annual fee of $8 billion (rises in subsequent years).
Cost control
- Independent Medicare board must begin to submit recommendations to curb Medicare spending, if costs are rising faster than inflation.
Taxes and fees
- Penalty for those who don't carry coverage rises to 2.5% of taxable income or $695, whichever is greater.
2017
Coverage
- Businesses with more than 100 employees can buy coverage on insurance exchanges, if state permits it.
Taxes and fees
- Excise tax of 40% imposed on health plans valued at more than $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage.
Now next week, as I research this more, I will try to explain more about what's in it, possibly some of the hype that's true and not true. Keep following my blog to keep informed.
Again, if you want to see if I can save you some money on your current health plan please click here.
Also, rates for life insurance have never been lower click here for a free quote.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Health care a new law
Ok - so, as I said before, if you haven't noticed already it went back to the House and they approved the changes. President Obama has passed the bill and it is now law. There will still be a huge legal fight to see if it is constitutional to mandate that we have to purchase health insurance.
My opinion is that this does violate several constitutional freedoms that we have. First and foremost, the 10th amendment states:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Basically this means that the federal government cannot force the states to enforce federal statute. In 1992, in New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 1992, for only the second time in 55 years, the Supreme Court invalidated a portion of a federal law for violating the Tenth Amendment.
It will be a very long, drawn-out process to see if there is really a legal leg to stand on here.
If you haven't heard already, within this bill they also passed a student loan law. The law strips banks of their roles as middlemen and puts the government in charge. You can still get a loan through a private lender but it won't have the backing of the federal government.
Please be sure to check back with me next week when I post what the new health care bill will do and what it won't do. I will give you the information and links you need to research it yourself so you can draw your own conclusions to what it could mean for you and your family.
If you feel you are paying to much for you health insurance and would like for me to take a look at what you have to make sure your plan fits your needs please click here.
Also, Term Life rates have never been lower. Let me see if I can save you money on your current Life Insurance policy. Please click here.
My opinion is that this does violate several constitutional freedoms that we have. First and foremost, the 10th amendment states:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Basically this means that the federal government cannot force the states to enforce federal statute. In 1992, in New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 1992, for only the second time in 55 years, the Supreme Court invalidated a portion of a federal law for violating the Tenth Amendment.
It will be a very long, drawn-out process to see if there is really a legal leg to stand on here.
If you haven't heard already, within this bill they also passed a student loan law. The law strips banks of their roles as middlemen and puts the government in charge. You can still get a loan through a private lender but it won't have the backing of the federal government.
Please be sure to check back with me next week when I post what the new health care bill will do and what it won't do. I will give you the information and links you need to research it yourself so you can draw your own conclusions to what it could mean for you and your family.
If you feel you are paying to much for you health insurance and would like for me to take a look at what you have to make sure your plan fits your needs please click here.
Also, Term Life rates have never been lower. Let me see if I can save you money on your current Life Insurance policy. Please click here.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The bill has passed... here's what you need to know now.
It's going to be a while before anything is finalized with the bill. As you may or may not know President Obama signed the bill into law as of 3/23/2010. This does not mean that everything will go into effect right away. The Bill that was passed on Sunday was the Senate bill with some exclusions such as the corn-husker kickback and Gator-aide as well as the Louisiana Purchase.
Since these items have been taken out of the bill, it has to be signed by the president then sent back to the Senate for approval. If the Senate changes anything on the bill, such as adds an amendment or takes anything out of it, it will need to be sent back to the House for approval again and it starts all over.
If the Senate approves this signed bill it will go into law. As of now there are 13 states that are filing a federal lawsuit to stop the bill saying it is unconstitutional by mandating that people buy health insurance. If you are worried about what happens next, don't. Until everything gets finalized through Congress and possibly the courts, it's business as usual.
I will post more information about what is in this bill as I continue to read through the bill. Please check back often.
If you feel you are paying too much for insurance please fill out your information on my health insurance page and allow me to take a look and see if I can save you some money.
I will post more information about what is in this bill as I continue to read through the bill. Please check back often.
If you feel you are paying too much for insurance please fill out your information on my health insurance page and allow me to take a look and see if I can save you some money.
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