ACA

Medicare for all sounds good, but not so good when you break it down on ROI

Medicare for all is the newest buzzword these days.  Putting everyone on a Medicare type system that the government regulates and enforces, is the general premise.  In theory it makes some sense, except when you break down the costs compared to what you actually get.  Its going to be a tough sell, to put it […]

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Government looking for ways to end the Cadillac Tax on employers, part of the current ACA….more taxes

There is wide support to repeal the current ObamaCare (ACA) Cadillac Tax due to take effect in 2022 for #employers and affecting Group Health Plans and Employee Benefit offerings by companies.  The tax was introduced by Obama as a way to help pay for the uninsured citizens in the US.  The Cadillac Tax would impose

Government looking for ways to end the Cadillac Tax on employers, part of the current ACA….more taxes Read More »

Insurance companies NOT hurting for money….record profits this year

Even though I’m an Independent Insurance Broker, I am not a fan of most of the insurance carriers.  The effects of NOT having health insurance plan, or Group Health Insurance plan, could be disastrous, economically.  Honestly, Health Insurance is a necessary evil.  If you are an employer, and you offer a Group Health Plan, you

Insurance companies NOT hurting for money….record profits this year Read More »

Association Health Plans for businesses…..California Democrats say NO

The Trump Administration released rules that would make it easier for small business and sole proprietors to purchase insurance as a group.  By setting up an Association Health Plan business owners can now band together to purchase insurance as a group.  This will be beneficial because the costs will potentially be lower.  On top of

Association Health Plans for businesses…..California Democrats say NO Read More »

Employees enrolling into HSA compatible Health Plans continues to grow, here’s why

Since 2004, the concept of using an #HSA has been growing steadily, and its predicted that it will surpass both HRAs and FSAs.  That’s a lot of acronyms.  To sum it all up, people like HSAs.  They’re not wild about High Deductible Health Plans, or #HDHPs, but that is the only way to have an

Employees enrolling into HSA compatible Health Plans continues to grow, here’s why Read More »

How about employers that want to give employees $$ to go out and buy their own Health Insurance, not so fast!

It used to be that employers would give their employees money to purchase their own Individual-Family plans.  They would find plans on the internet or through an Independent Broker.  Some employers would “reimburse” employees for their health insurance expenses that they found on their own.  Many companies would claim the money paid as a “business

How about employers that want to give employees $$ to go out and buy their own Health Insurance, not so fast! Read More »

Larger employers may get relief from the ACA if new measure passes

The “Save American Workers Act, (HR 3798) will be voted on very soon by the House of Representatives.  If passed, it would change the definition of a full time worker to a full 40 hours a week, not 30 hours as it stands now with the ACA, ObamaCare.  Today, an employer with at least 50

Larger employers may get relief from the ACA if new measure passes Read More »

Trump still battling ObamaCare, no change in number of unisured with Trump at POTUS in 2017

According to the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC, the first year of President Donald Trump has not affected the numbers of overall uninsured in America.  Census Bureau data information is that in 2017, the uninsured in America held firm at under 9%.  States that have expanded Medicaid (It’s MediCal in CA), have experienced a decrease

Trump still battling ObamaCare, no change in number of unisured with Trump at POTUS in 2017 Read More »

ACA Employer Mandate and Pay or Play may be going away, possibly retroactively! Employers are cheering

I would not celebrate yet…but H.R. 4616 would basically shut down the ACA’s Employer Mandate, sometimes known as the “Pay or Play” for larger employers.  Members of the House of Representatives will be voting very soon on this bill that could suspend collection of the ACA Employer Mandate penalties and also further delay the ACA

ACA Employer Mandate and Pay or Play may be going away, possibly retroactively! Employers are cheering Read More »

Short Term Plans for CA…probably not going to happen thanks to CA Democrats

Even though Trump is allowing Short Term plans to come back, and even flourish for people that don’t want to pay the super high pricing of a fully insured plan with benefits they neither want or can use, CA lawmakers are putting a stop to it.  The thinking is that Short Term plans are not

Short Term Plans for CA…probably not going to happen thanks to CA Democrats Read More »

Small Business Health Insurance little secret……once a year Special Enrollment Period

If you are an employer that is looking to put together a Group Health Insurance plan, there may be some affordable options out there, only available once a year.  The ACA (ObamaCare) has mandated that once a year, during the month of November, all carriers, Kaiser, Anthem, Aetna, UHC, Blue Shield, all have to accept

Small Business Health Insurance little secret……once a year Special Enrollment Period Read More »

Employers that embrace HSA Group Health Plans for their employees can still save big

Back in 2004 when HSA plans made their debut, most employers made the switch, including myself.  It made absolute sense.  The savings in moving from a traditional plan was so great that employers were fully funding the employee’s deductibles, and still saving a ton of money.  It was a no brainer…..then something changed.  Because so

Employers that embrace HSA Group Health Plans for their employees can still save big Read More »

Are Employee Benefits really important to Small Businesses, or a waste of money

The bottom line to all of the talk about Employee Benefits or Group Health Insurance for smaller companies is this….they really have to make sense for you, as an employer, to have them available to your employees.  I’ve been introduced to so many owners of companies that don’t see the value in Employee Benefits being

Are Employee Benefits really important to Small Businesses, or a waste of money Read More »

States may have the ability to make changes to the ACA that affect coverage and subsidies

Built into the ACA is section 1332 which allows individual states to make changes to not only coverage but to the offered subsidies to Individual and Group Health Plans.  The Minimal Essential Coverage of Employee Benefit plans can be altered, and probably will be.  We should see some ruling very soon concerning how changes can

States may have the ability to make changes to the ACA that affect coverage and subsidies Read More »

BIG changes to HSAs coming very soon…and they are all good!

Under Obama,  (Health Savings Accounts) HSAs became more restrictive and the yearly maximums individuals and families increased, but at a very slow rate.  If you have an HSA compatible health plan, sometimes called an HDHP, that allows you to bank tax free money in a savings account to pay for many things medically necessary.  That

BIG changes to HSAs coming very soon…and they are all good! Read More »