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COBRA Subsidies Explained
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| We have received more calls on the recent legislation and how it affects COBRA, than any topic in the last year. A bit of background: Congress recently passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Act), and the Act has been signed by President Obama. Part of the act includes a subsidy of the COBRA premiums for certain individuals. We have (tried our best) to summarize the Act and the provisions in the Act that affect COBRA continuation coverage in an article you can find here. |
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COBRA Subsidy Notices - What Employers Need To Know
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If you have ever noticed Superman on the left side of our emails, he is helping us promote the COBRA software from OnQue Technologies. They provide COBRA Compliance software for employers. They recently provided us with an update on the notices required by the new ARRA legislation. If you are an employer, and you need a reason to consider OnQue product to help you with your COBRA coverage, you can link to that information here.
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IRS To The Rescue - COBRA Information |
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service released new
detailed information that will help employers claim credit for the
COBRA medical premiums they pay for their former employees.
The IRS unveiled new information on its Web site, IRS.gov, that includes an extensive set of questions and answers for
employers. In addition, the Web site contains a revised version of the
quarterly payroll tax return that employers will use to claim credit
for the COBRA medical premiums they pay for their former employees.
You can see the complete IRS press release here. |
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Overheard...Allowing People To Keep Current Health Coverage Seen as a "Key Plank" in Obama's plan
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 The Los Angeles Times reported that "Obama's push to expand healthcare coverage began in earnest, with the announcement of his plan to create a $634-billion fund to do just that." But, "the cost of covering the uninsured ultimately will depend on the number of people included, the specific benefits they receive, and the amount of financial help the taxpayers would provide."
One "key plank in any plan offered by the Obama administration" would be to allow people to keep their current coverage, including employer-sponsored coverage. And although "a mandate would represent a big expansion of government authority -- many believe it is the logical way to go," including "Democratic leaders in Congress." Still, lawmakers "would have to decide the amount of financial subsidies to help people pay for their coverage" before approving "such a mandate." Furthermore, "a mandate would also involve intense negotiations between the government and the insurance industry over the terms and details of coverage."
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The Lighter Side - Wingsuit Base Jumping
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 Until I saw this video, I would have told you that the phrase 'Extreme Base Jumping' was redundant. Silly rabbit. Now I know there is base jumping, and then there is the next level of base jumping. Think of jumping off of a cliff wearing a flying squirrel-type suit with a parachute on your back - and you are trying to "fly" as close to the side of the cliff as possible. In the video you will hear one of the jumpers say, " At the beginning of wingsuit base jumping we were trying to get as far from the wall as possible... and now it is getting boring so we play around." Yeah, right. If you have not already clicked on the link above, click here to see the video. |
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I Wish I Had Said That... |
"They had quite a scare in Washington, DC, today. Apparently,
President Obama was meeting with some potential cabinet nominees and
someone noticed a suspicious looking document on the table that no one
had ever seen before.
Turns out it was just a tax form, but it gave them quite a fright."
Jay Leno
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