| Issue: # 83 | September 19, 2012 |
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Greetings!
Since 1992, we've been located in downtown Worcester. We realize the success, or lack of success, of our city and area has a direct effect on our bottom line. Recently it was
called to our attention that JetBlue is considering providing JetService to Worcester Airport. This would be a complete game-changer for the aiport and a boost to our local economy.
It was announced that JetBlue CEO Dave Barger would visit Worcester on August 22,2012.
We decided to start a contest for the best 1 to 2 minute video explaining whyJetBlue should come to Worcester with a $2,000 cash prize. In fact, JetBlue heard about our contest and submitted the video above. Click on it - very funny.
We bring this up to show the benefits of doing business with  a locally owned business which typically reinvests locally, versus a conglomerate that is owned out of state. The winning video received $2,000 from us, but also 8 round trip tickets from Jet Blue.
Approximately 50 videos were submitted, including one from Vangella, our daughter,--who was not eligible.
If you have a question, send an email to Bill or Vanessa today.
Bill Randell CLU,CHFC,
Vanessa Costa CLU,CHFC,
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Health insurance 4th quarter rates | |
Rates have been very stable, in fact we've seen Rate Decreases. The average increase is approximately 5-8%. We know its still a lot for both employer and employee to deal with, but comparitively speaking its been the best year in a very long time.
The norm right now for employers is to have deductible plans, recent industry survey seems to confirm this, which cover;
- annual well-care physical
- prescriptions
- emergency room (some plans have deductible apply to ER visits)
Everything else then applies to the deductible:
- MRI-CAT-PET scans
- diagnostic testing
- day surgeries
- hospitalizations
Many companies establish an Employer Funded Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) to pay a portion of the deductible incurred by employees. The theory being that employers will still come out ahead with the premium savings generated by the deductible plan.
Employers are now cutting back on this, which has led to more Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), which are employee funded. The FSA enables employees to defer monies tax deductible to pay expenses they incur with the deductible plan.
If you need any help on either HRA or FSA, we can help!
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Flexible Spending Accounts | |
A health-care flexible spending account (FSA) lets you pay for qualified medical & dental expenses with pretax dollars. With a health-care FSA, you can contribute pretax earnings to the plan (usually through a salary reduction agreement with your employer) and submit qualifying expenses to the plan for reimbursement. If you tend to spend a lot on medical expenses that are not covered by your health plan, contributing to an employer-sponsored health-care FSA is a good way to help pay for these expenses.
Although over-the-counter (OTC) medications used to qualify for reimbursement from a health-care FSA, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 amended the definition of qualified medical expenses. As a result, OTC medications (except for insulin and medications that are prescribed by a physician) are no longer eligible.
Currently, there is no legal limit on the amount you can contribute to a health-care FSA. However, most employers do impose a cap on contributions and if you are thinking of starting one, start low!
Finally, when participating in an FSA, it's important to remember that you cannot carry over monies you contribute from one plan year to the next. In other words, if you don't use it, you lose it. As a result, it's important to choose your contribution amount carefully. |
Central Mass Dental & Vision (CMDAV) | |
We continue to have success with CMDAV. if you have dental insurance already, there is no need for this product. On the other hand, if you do not have dental insurance and your employees are spending monies on preventive dental & eyeglasses/contacts,( which is only deductible if you itemize and to the extent it exceeds 7.5% of pay), this is a perfect fit!
Take a look at Plan 1 on the website. An individual plan costs $8.49 per week, but since it would be deductible through the Section 125 Plan, the actualy reduction in an employee's paycheck will be approximately $6 per week.
Now assuming the employee takes advantage of the $150 eyeglass/contact reimbursement that equates to approximately a $3 per week tax free return of premiums. In the the end the net net cost for $750 between the preventive dental and vision benefits costs $3 per week.
Best part is that it requires no contribution at all from the employer!! If you think your employees would be interested in this, we can drop off surveys for your employees to answer "yes" or "no". If they answer "yes", they need to complete the enrollment information on the back of the survey.
Any questions, send us an e-mail. |
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