That is how one of our clients titled an email to us when they were asking us if they had to pay 65% of the cost of COBRA for employees who were terminated.
We understand their frustration. As an employer, you agree to pay a certain portion of the insurance premium. Then you have an employee that leaves and the government changes the rules and you find you are responsible for paying a greater portion of their medical premium than when they were employed. Yeah, you get it back from the federal government, but it may not be immediate - or easy. As one source described it: "...the employer (or, in some cases, the plan or insurer) is then reimbursed by the federal government for the other 65% of the COBRA premium, through a credit or refund of an overpayment of payroll taxes. There is a phased-in recapture of premium assistance provided for taxpayers whose income exceeds $125,000 ($250,000 for a joint return)..."
Yeah, that sounds easy enough.
Continue reading to see find good news including some helpful FAQs provided by the Department of Labor.
|
|
Survey - Would You Opt Out Of Social Security?
|
Sun Life Financial recently did a survey that asked the simple question, "Would you opt out of Social Security? Given the fact that the Social Security system is so deeply in debt, the only thing that surprises us about the survey is that more people did not say they would opt out of Social Security if given the chance. You can see the results of the survey here.
|
|
10 Surprising Facts About American Health Care |
 Despite the constant drumbeat to reform our health care system, the U.S. system has a lot of good points to consider. Here are a few...
Fact No. 1: Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers.
Fact No. 2: Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians.
Fact No. 3: Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.
Read the rest of the 10 Facts |
|
Overheard...The Myth Of The 46 Million Uninsured |
 From an article by Philip Klein:
"Whether it's in political speeches, commentary, newspaper features, or hard news stories, the statistic of 46 million uninsured is one of the most-widely cited numbers in the health care debate. It promotes the idea that nearly one out of every six Americans does not have access to health care and it plays into the arguments of those calling for massive expansion of government to fix the problem. Yet the ubiquitous figure is highly misleading."
Continue reading
|
|
I Wish I Had Said That... |
April 15 is fast approaching, so we thought we would share some of our favorite tax commentaries. Some funny, some serious. All have a bit of truth to them...
"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss."
Robert A. Heinlein
"I owe the government $3,400 in taxes. So I sent them two hammers and a toilet seat."
Michael McShane
"It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income."
Benjamin Franklin
"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents..."
James Madison
You can find more quotes here.
|
