How Kids will be Impacted by Affordable Health Care Act

Over the past few weeks, we have discussed the Affordable Health Care Act and tried to break away from the media’s normal approach of either praising or criticizing, aiming instead for a balanced approach that presents all sides and ways that businesses and people will be affected.

In the fourth part of our series, we are going to talk about something that has undoubtedly been on everyone’s minds, as it has been on ours too. How will this Affordable Health Care Act affect our children?

Good for the Children

Whether you hate it or love it, if you have kids, then you are going to love this. One of the main things there have been outcries over with the Affordable Health Care Act has been the health care tax that will be implemented come 2014. When that time comes, if you don’t have health insurance, then you will have to pay a tax that will increase significantly over the course of two years.

Many people must be thinking how unfair that is to our youth that our struggling to get by in this economy, well apparently so were big men in charge when they wrote the bill. 

Parents everywhere should rejoice for your health insurance will now cover your children until they are 26 years old.

This extra time is perfect for your child to get a job that offers its own health benefits and to stay insured while they go through college or trade school. 

Also, when you take into account that the bill is encouraging and enticing employers with major tax incentives to offer healthcare to their employees, one can be reassured at how easy it will be for little Jonny to get himself insured.

Other Benefits of the Bill

Your children can now be covered under your employer’s health insurance benefits as long as you employed. The government is issuing very nice tax benefits to companies that take on or already offer health insurance to their employees.

It is now easier than ever to get health insurance through a variety of processes. There are various government aid programs that are perfect for the struggling student or young person that falls out of the 26-year old age bracket and, of course, many other families will qualify. Prescription prices are dropping dramatically, also making things easier on people of all ages.

So, whether you like it or not, the bill is here and the changes are being made every day. Nothing is perfect, but it could always be worse. 

With the Affordable Health Care Act passed, millions of Americans, including their children, will be able to enjoy healthcare when they didn’t even dream of affording it before.

Is Health Insurance Required?

In previous blog posts, we covered topics related to the new health care reform bill, including whether or not it would save you money or what it really involved in terms of requirements. Now, we are going to delve deeper into a subject that is on a lot of people’s minds. And, that question is: “Is having health insurance an absolute requirement?”

Some argue that it is, in fact, required, but technically it is not. In this week’s blog, we are going to attempt to clarify some of the uncertainty around this aspect of the new health care bill. 

Technically, you are not required to have a health insurance, but, as of 2014, all persons who do not have health insurance will receive a fine in the form of a tax.

This means that, while no one can force you to get health insurance, but they can heavily influence your decision by introducing what could be described as a sanction for not getting health insurance.

The Facts

The health care reform bill is in play and it’s already delivering some key changes. Because of the reform, children are going to be covered by their parent’s plans until they are 26 years old. This is a good thing for a couple of reasons.

First, it allows them to either be well enough on their own that they can afford insurance or have a job that offers insurance benefits by that time. Second, the bill makes getting insurance easier for many people and puts a tax on those whose household incomes that are over $250,000 a year.

Come 2014, those who choose not to have insurance whether through the many assistance programs that many will be eligible through their jobs or opting to purchase it on their own will be taxed. This tax will increase over a two-year period in which the fee will then become stagnate.

How do you avoid the tax and is it really that much easier to get healthcare? Through newly implemented ‘exchanges,’ you can easily purchase a health insurance plan.

Many individuals from impoverished families to the elderly are eligible for government underwritten healthcare, which makes attaining it that much easier.  Due to newly implemented tax benefits and laws, it is in the best interest of businesses to offer health insurance. All of these reasons and more show just how easy this reform will make attaining health insurance.

The Benefits to All

While some are against this particular type of health care reform, some are for it and others have just ignored it; the fact is that health care reform is here and that is all there is to it.

Before the reform, there were many that had no way of getting health insurance. Now, with the ‘exchanges,’ the incentive for business, along with the government’s assistance, it is much easier for the majority to have their health care needs better served.

Next week, we’ll have the last in our series about our opinions on health care reform and what it means for businesses and health insurance benefits. 

Save More with the New Healthcare Bill

Families everywhere shell out for health insurance, whether by paying a percentage while their employer covers the rest or by paying for it all on their own. Many families pay thousands of dollars every year for health insurance.

Other families though cannot afford health insurance and are stuck working a low income often classified as a ‘part time’ job so their employers can get around offering health insurance coverage. 

With the new healthcare bill passed, come 2014, many things will change that can and will benefit the people as whole for this bill does not cater to the individual but the nation’s population.

An Overview

We have talked about a few of the changes over the past couple of weeks, so after a quick refresher we are going to dive right into the question that is on everyone’s minds. ‘How will this save me money?’

Now that the healthcare bill has passed, high income households will pay a higher tax, which will do a couple things. It will help to cover lower income households that could not otherwise have insurance and, over the course of years, it is speculated that the tax will get our country out of its current economic crisis.

Come 2014, there will be a fine that will gradually increase till 2016 in which it will then be capped off. The fine is for those that refuse to get healthcare, but with all of the new benefits that come with the healthcare bill, those numbers will be few.

How the Bill will Save You Money

From the start, people’s concern has always been about the money, so we are here to break it down for you and ultimately tell you how things will save you money. For starters, insurance companies can no longer cap what they spend on your health coverage over a lifetime. Basically, there are no more ‘it’s too much’ spiels.

Secondly, individuals with pre-existing conditions will receive coverage. After all, you can’t control that you have diabetes. Another benefit is that insurance companies can no longer just drop your coverage; they have to stick with it and help with the bills.

Children will be covered until the age 26 under their parent’s plan (this is already in place) while low income households will receive care and seniors will receive discounts on prescription drugs as well as other healthcare services. 

While the higher income families will have to pay a tax, the fees are not higher than the bronze plan of insurance and, in the end, this gives more families access to the healthcare they deserve and need.

Be sure to check back with us in the future when we will provide further updates on the ongoing changes to the healthcare system.

                

How to Get Tax Credits as a Small Business Owner

Last month, we went over the basics of how the new health care law would affect businesses in general. Now, we are going to go into a little more detail about how the health care law will change, improve, and encourage small business owners to provide health care for their employees.

The good news is that small business owners will not only attract a better worker by providing benefits, but they will also be able to receive money back on their tax return. This blog post will also include some general methods designed to help small business owners get tax credits. It is also the first in a series of blog posts all pertaining to the health care bill.

Offering Health Benefits

Now more than ever before, there is a more appealing reason for offering employees health benefits. You can write these benefits off your taxes provided your small business meets specific criteria. It could mean that your business receives 35% of your employee's premium back in tax credits.

Here are some guidelines to follow, but you can find more detailed information on the IRS website:  

·         You must cover at least 50% of the health care costs for your employees.

·         You need to have fewer than 25 full-time employees to qualify as a small business and thus qualify for the tax credits.

·         The average annual wages of your employees must be less than $50,000 a year.

If you meet these requirements, then you are well on your way to being able to write off your employee health care fees and receive 35% of what you paid back.

These requirements are based off of the current Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Act and are valid until 2013, but once 2013 hits, things only get better.

Thanks to the new health care legislation that will be enacted in 2014 you will be eligible to receive up to 50% of the annual premium back -- just another reason to provide health care to your employees.

A Few Tax Write-Off Tips

Running a business can be pricey with costs adding up seemingly faster than the revenues. Luckily, there is something you can do to help get some of that money back. For starters, keep all of your receipts.

For example, if you control a fleet of service trucks, the money you spend on gas is a tax write-off. Buying office supplies, such as forms and paper clips, are all write-offs. Your receipts will be a way to calculate all these tax savings so that you can get more back and reinvest that in providing the best possible benefits.