Health Care Reform 2014 and Beyond

The Hoss apologizes for the delay in his final posting on Health Care Reform.

Mrs. Hoss's business required that we convert one of the stalls in the family barn (our house) into an office. Although Mrs. Hoss does the vast majority of the work the Hoss must be around to run for supplies, prepare the occasional meal and once in a while provide some actual labour.



Now, back to the health care reform timeline and the changes to take place in 2014 and beyond.

• If you do not have acceptable coverage in 2014 you will pay a fine of $95.00. This will increase to $325 in 2015, $695 in 2016 or a maximum of 2.5% of family income). Penalties will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index after 2016. Note: There will be a cap of $2,250 per family and the charge per child is half the required amount.

• Workers who don’t qualify for tax credits and who are exempt from individual responsibility can join an exchange plan by using their employer contribution.

• A fine of $2000 per employee will be imposed on companies with 50 or more employees who do not offer coverage to employees, if at least one of their employees receives a tax credit. The is per employee after the first 30. The maximum waiting period before insurance takes effect is to 90 days. Employers with employees receiving a tax credit will pay $3,000 for each worker receiving a tax credit.

• Health insurers are prohibited from charging higher premiums due to health status, gender or other reasons. They cannot refuse coverage due to a pre existing condition or current health status. They cannot impose an annual limit on coverage.

• Small employers and individuals will be able to shop around for standardized health plans through health exchanges.

• People not eligible for or who cannot obtain acceptable coverage and whose income is above Medicaid eligibility and below 400% of the poverty level will receive credits through health exchanges.

• New funding will be provided to the States so that all nonelderly individuals Medicaid eligibility can be increased to 133 of poverty level.

• Health insurance companies whose total premiums are greater than $25 million will have to pay an annual health insurance provider fee based on the insurers' market share.

• In 2018 so called "Cadillac Plans" will pay an excise tax.

This concludes The Hoss's summary of the upcoming changes to health care. I hope you have found the information useful.

Stay on Track,

Money Magazine Hoss

Next Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine Post: United & Continental Merge
Return to previous post from Health Care Reform 2014 and Beyond

Related Posts:
Health Care Reform 2013
Health Care Reform Year One
Health Care Reform Year Two 2011

Health Care Reform 2013

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Hoss Cents Free Financial Magazine continues its series on Health Care Reform in the United States. Here are the changes you can expect in 2013.

In order to reduce paperwork and costs of administration health plans will be required to put into practice uniform standards for electronic transfer or exchange of information.

A limit of $2,500 per year will be imposed on contributions to flexible savings accounts. In subsequent years this limit will be indexed by the Consumer Price Index.

Health care reform will eliminate The Employer Medicare Part D subsidy deduction. In addition employers will lose the tax deduction for subsidizing prescription drug plans for Medicare Part D-eligible retirees.

The income threshold will increase from 7.5 % to 10% (an increase 0f 2.5%) of adjusted gross income. However, anyone older than 65 may claim the 7.5% deduction until the end of 2016.

Singles earning more than $200,000 will have their hospital insurance tax increase .9%. Married couples filing jointly and earning more than $250,000 will incur the same increase. This includes net investment income.

An excise tax on the initial sale of medical devices will be imposed. The amount will be 2.9%. There are some exceptions such as eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids or other items for individual use.

Please leave a comment if you find this summary of the health care plan informative and helpful.

Stay on Track,

Money Magazine Hoss

Next Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine Post: Health Care Reform Year 2014
Return to previous post from Health Care Reform Year Two 2013

Related Posts:
Health Care Reform Year One
Health Care Reform Year Two 2011

Health Care Reform Year Two 2011

In the last edition of Hoss Cents Free Financial Magazine we took a look at changes to health care that are scheduled to take place in 2010. Today we review changes to take place in 2011.

Free annual wellness visits will be provided by Medicare along with personalized prevention programs. There will no co-pay required for preventive services under any new plan.

Beginning October 1, home and community based services for the disabled can be offered by the States through Medicaid as an option to institutionalized care.

Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage enrollees will receive a 50% discount on brand-name drugs. There will be phased in discounts on generic and brand name drugs to completely close the "doughnut hole" by 2020.

Withdrawals from health savings accounts before age 65 for non qualified medical expenses will increase to 20% from the current 10%. Archer medical savings accounts will also have a tax increase for withdrawals not used for qualified medical expenses, that increase will be from the current 15% to 20% a 5% increase.

In order to ease the administrative burden of sponsoring a cafeteria plan (small businesses, a plan will be created to enable small business to offer tax-free benefits.

There will be an increase in the Medicare payroll tax for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples filing jointly above $250,00. The tax increase will be 0.9%. (1.45% to 2.35%).

The Hoss hopes his ongoing summary of the health care plan helps you understand how the bill affects you in this and upcoming years..

Next Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine Post: Health Care Reform Year 2013
Return to previous post from Health Care Reform Year Two 2011

Related Posts:
Health Care Reform Year One

Health Care Reform Year One

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Health Care Reform is now law. So what does this mean to you? How will you benefit? Will your taxes increase/decrease? The list of health care questions seems endless to many but fear not. The Hoss has done considerable research and over the next few post will help you determine how the Health care reform package will affect you.

We will start with the changes scheduled to take place in the current year.

Early retirees 55 to 64 will benefit from a temporary reinsurance program provided to companies with early retiree health benefits.

Both lifetime and restrictive annual limits on benefits are eliminated.

The infamous "doughnut hole" in Medicare prescription drug coverage for seniors will be softened with a $250 rebate.

Young adults up until their 26th birthday will be able remain on their parents' insurance. This will be beneficial to college students and others unable to find employment.

If you become ill the insurance company cannot rescind your policy, after all that is why you have insurance.

Insurance companies are now banned from imposing exclusions on children with pre-existing conditions. Pools will be established to cover those with pre-existing health conditions until such time as the health care coverage exchanges are operational.

Coverage for Preventive services without co-pays is mandatory for new plans and all plans by 2018.

An appeals process for coverage determinations and claims will be implemented by new plans.

There will be a $1,000 increase in the adoption tax credit and assistance exclusion. The credit is refundable and extends through 2011.Indoor tanning facilities will have a 10 percent tax imposed on amounts paid for services on or after July 1.

Small businesses having less than 50 employees will get tax credits covering 35 percent of their health care premiums, increasing to 50 percent by 2014.

The Hoss hopes this summary of the benefits to take place this year as a result of health care reform helps you understand how the bill affects you in 2010.

Next Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine Post: Health Care Reform Year 2, 2011
Return to previous post from Health Care Reform Year One

Half of Americans under 65 to lose their health care?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

A brand new report from the Treasury Department indicates that at some point over the next ten years approximately half of Americans under age 65 will lose their health care coverage.

In his weekly White House address, President Obama assured the American people that he would not let this happen. "In the United States of America, no one should have to worry that they’ll go without health insurance – not for one year, not for one month, not for one day. And once I sign my health reform plan into law – they won’t."

President Obama took this opportunity to tell those Americans already with health insurance that nothing in his plan would require them to change their doctor or the coverage they have. Rather, his plan would make sure their insurance would be improved. "We’ll make it illegal for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition, drop your coverage when you get sick, or water it down when you need it most. They’ll no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or over a lifetime, and we will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses – because no one should go broke just because they get sick."

In addition, those currently without coverage will be able (under his plan) to get quality plans at affordable prices.

He reaffirmed his commitment that any plan he signs will not to add one dime to the United States deficits. He actually predicted a deficit reduction of $4 trillion over the long term. How? By successfully slowing the growth of health care cost by a mere one-tenth of one percent.

President Obama stated the time for action is now.

Money Magazine Hoss agrees with the President. Enough debating. What is currently in place is not working. It's time to try something new. In a country as abundant as America, it is a travesty, an international embarrassment, that so many are without the means to get health care.

Stay on Track,

Money Magazine Hoss

Next Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine Post: September 20, 2009
Return to previous post from Half of all Americans Under 65 to lose their health Care?

Related Posts:
Health Care Public Vs Private
Insurance, Insurance, Insurance
Obama McCain Health Care Plans

Health Care Public Vs Private

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

From the Hoss's Mouth

Why does health care cost so much? Forget all you hear about the high cost of developing new equipment and drugs, over-utilization, increased salaries for health care professionals, and an aging population. Money Magazine Hoss can give you the answer for the high cost of health care in one word: GREED.

Greed by health insurance companies who are in the business for the sole purpose of generating a profit. They could care less about providing affordable health care insurance for companies and individuals.

How does Money Magazine Hoss come to this conclusion? He does so by reading private for profit insurance horror stories posted all over the Internet and by reading private insurance whistle blower testimony given before Congress.

Health insurance companies are notorious for denying valid claims, using excuses such as claimant had a pre-existing condition, claimant provided false information on their application form (even if it was an honest mistake). Testimony before Congress indicated for-profit insurance companies employ the following strategies:

• Regular meetings to identify high cost areas and how to redesign benefits to control them.

• Multiple exclusion clauses which are unknown to doctor or patient until used by the insurance company to deny a claim.

• Pre-existing condition exclusions which enable the plan to take steps to link a patient’s current diagnosis with some prior diagnosis and thus deny the claim

• Misleading advertising which only highlights the benefits of the plan with no mention of the plans restrictions.

• Denials on the grounds the treatment is not medically necessary--this is the insurance companies' ultimate cost control tool.

The above examples are by no means a complete list of all the methods used by insurance companies to reduce their costs.

For more info, see the testimony of LINDA PEENO, M.D.

Perhaps the most disturbing tactic Money Magazine Hoss has come across is when a terminally ill patient’s health care claim is denied. The health insurance company knows full well that the claimant will die before s/he can process an appeal, and thus they avoid paying for any treatment prior to death. Of course they always claim they had legitimate reasons for denying the claim.

Money Magazine Hoss resides in Canada, and we have a public health care system which, although not perfect, does take the profit incentive out of health care. The premiums are minimal and provisions are made for those with no or very little income. We do experience some delays but emergency cases are given priority.

Money Magazine Hoss supports President Obama’s public health care option, in fact he would like to see health care totally removed from for-profit companies.

Stay on Track,

Money Magazine Hoss

Next Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine Post: September 06, 2009
Return to previous post from Health Care Public Vs Private

Related Post
Obama McCain Health Care Plans
Insurance, Insurance, Insurance