| Issue: # 28 |
January 29, 2009 |
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Dear :
Many of our clients have found these newsletters to be quite helpful and access archived newsletters on our website quite often. If you know anyone who may find this information of interest, please forward them this newsletter (there is a link on the bottom), and they can subscribe themselves. We would appreciate the referral.
Sincerely,
Bill Randell, CLU, CHFC Vanessa Costa, CLU,CHFC
Advantage Benefits Group, Inc.
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Insurance Partnership
Proposed Changes
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The Insurance Partnership is a State of Massachusetts program that provides assistance to both Employees & Employers ( with less than 50 employees). Employees must meet certain income guidelines and the burden is on those individuals to complete paperwork and provide proof of income. Please check out their website and review their brochure.
Insurance Partnership is a program that has been in place for years with a great staff. Many of our employers have connected with them already. Both Simon Muil and Dave Ten Ecyk have years of experience and are eager to work with you. Unlike the new government entity, the Connector Authority, it is not a health insurance plan and does not disrupt any plans you have in place now. The Insurance Partnership works with any health insurance carrier that the employer provides, thus allowing for competition in the marketplace, while helping those who need it most.
We, however, have had two problems with the Insurance Partnership:
- It only applies to employers of 50 or fewer employees.
- People currently on the employer sponsored group health plan were not eligible for the Insurance Partnership. Therefore, only "new hires" would qualify.
We are excited to announce that Representative John Fresolo of Worcester has filed legislation to address the above issues and make the program work better for business owners, as follows:
- Expand the Insurance Partnership program by allowing employers with 50 or more employees
- Allow current employees participating in the employer sponsored group health to be eligible to participate in the Insurance Partnership over a two year period.
We will keep you informed.
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| HSA for Advantage Benefits
Update |
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As business owners just like you, we have to examine our own group insurance plan & make sure it works. At our renewal last year (May 08) we switched to an "HSA Compliant Product" with a $3,000 family deductible through Blue Cross. Basically this means the first $3,000 of medical expenses (excluding our annual routine check-up) must be paid by the family - including prescriptions, before coverage kicks in. Our prior Blue Cross plan had a $25 office visit, $100 emergency, $75 for MRI/CAT/PET scans, 1,000 hospitalization, $250 day surgery and 15/30/50 for prescriptions. Why did we make this change?
The $3,000 family deductible HSA Compliant product allowed us to open a Health Savings Account and deposit $5,800 on a Tax Deductible & Tax Deferred basis. The immediate benefit was the current tax deduction plus a nominal savings of $73.71 per month in premiums. Since there were no medical expenses incurred for 2008 the entire HSA account is in tact and will be available for use in 2009. . In the event we do incur medical expenses subject to the deductible, we can withdraw monies from the Health Savings Account without any tax consequences to cover the expense.
Remember, there is NO "loss" of monies in an HSA, if you do not "use" them unlike an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) . Monies remaining in the HSA accumulate tax-deferred and can be withdrawn at any time but would be taxable just like an IRA, including a 10% penalty before age 59 1/2 if not used for qualified, eligible medical expenses.
After eight months, we have:
- saved $589.68 in premiums
- incurred no claims towards the deductible
- contributed $5,800 tax deductible into our HSA
Health Savings Accounts are not for everyone. Health carriers will allow you to offfer multiple plans, so the owners can opt for the HSA eligible high deductible plan. On the other hand the rest of the employees stay with a conventional HMO plan, not HSA eligible. Also, keep in mind, monies in the HSA can be used down the road for Medicare Supplement premiums and Long Term Care Expenses.
Given the right situation, a business owner can basically set this up for his own family, benefit from the tax deduction today, and prefund health isurance premiums and/or long term care expenses after retirement. All of this can be done without worrying about any discriminatory issues.
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Tufts Medical Center
Inks Deal with Blue Cross
As predicted by Advantage Benefits earlier this month, Tufts Medical Center signed a deal with Blue Cross and there will be no interruption for Blue Cross subscribers who utilize this hospital. Click here for the story. |
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| Year End Reminders
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* Year end Fitness Benefits - usually you have till March to submit for prior year.
* 1st Quarter HIRD Filing is due by February 15, 2009
* 1099HC were mailed by all the carriers - When employees come to you and say they lost it or
never got it - tell the employee to call member services 1-800 number on the back of their ID
card and request another one.
We appreciate your business!
Call us anytime with questions.
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| Super Bowl Commercials
Our Nominee for the Best |
In light of all new commercials this week-end for the Super Bowl, we have chosen our new favorite commercial. Click here to watch. It is a link to YouTube and you may need to hit the "play" button. | |
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