It has been about a month since we wrote about our experience “in the trenches” as we help our clients manage the transition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many of you are wondering how things are going. Record High Volume at Virginia Medical Plans We, like most brokers across the country, continue to experience a record high volume of calls and emails. As you can imagine, we are doing
How Much Penalty Will I Pay if I Don’t Get Health Insurance?
The individual responsibility clause of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the individual mandate, requires all Americans to have health insurance by January 1, 2014, or pay a penalty tax. How Much Will the Penalty Be for not Having Health Insurance? You may have heard the figure $95 per person. That is the basic penalty in 2014 for an unmarried individual, earning less than $19,500/year, with no dependents.
Online SHOP – Small Business Health Options Program – Delayed by One Year
Last week we learned that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has delayed by one year the launch of the online SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program). What is SHOP? SHOP is the federal online health insurance marketplace through which small business owners (employing less than 50 FTEs) can shop group health insurance plans for their employees. The idea behind SHOP is much the same as that of
Who Wins under the Affordable Care Act?
Are There Any Winners Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? The short answer is YES. Many Americans — millions in fact — will be better off because of the new law. Let’s look at it strictly by the numbers. The population of the United States is approximately 300 million. Here is a breakdown of the health insurance status for Americans today: Some points to consider regarding Americans who currently have
Enrollment Extensions Under Affordable Care Act
Enrollment extensions for two key dates under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were announced last week. 1 – Enrollment Deadline for January 1, 2014 Health Insurance Plans You now have eight extra days — until December 23, 2013 (originally December 15) — to enroll** and pay for* coverage with an effective date of January 1, 2014. *Update: 12/13/13: According to an HHS ruling, you now have until December 31, 2013
Virginia Medical Plans’ Jon Katz in the News
Virginia Medical Plans’ own Jon Katz has become the go-to guy when it comes to information about today’s ever-changing landscape of health insurance. The local press in the Washington DC / Virginia / Maryland area has called upon Jon’s expert knowledge several times since the rollout of Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare. In October, Jon was featured on National Public Radio (NPR)’s radio show Marketplace (click here
National Association of Health Underwriters Helps Brokers Manage Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)
The impact of the troubled online federal health insurance marketplace — healthcare.gov — has been felt by many Americans trying to manage the transition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “Obamacare”. And now we have a numeric representation of the impact — last week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released enrollment numbers since the opening of the health insurance marketplace on October 1. The
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) Now Allow $500 Carryover
In good news for consumers, last month the US Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a change to the “use-or-lose” rule for Health Flexible Spending Arrangements — also known as Flexible Spending Accounts or FSAs. (Read the full notice here.) What is a Health Flexible Spending Account (FSA)? When considering which benefits to offer its workforce, an employer may choose to offer the option of a
Obama’s News Conference on Affordable Care Act — What Does it Mean?
Yesterday President Obama held a national news conference in which he apologized for “fumbling” the rollout of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — otherwise known as “Obamacare”. In addition to his apology, the President suggested a fix for the millions of Americans whose current policies are being canceled by their health insurance carrier. The Proposed Fix The proposed fix involves letting people hold on to their non-ACA-compliant health insurance plans
Impact of Obamacare on the Individual and Small Group Health Insurance Markets
Everywhere you turn these days, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — otherwise known as “Obamacare” — is in the news. From last month’s government shutdown, to the glitchy launch of healthcare.gov, to the results of last week’s elections, and now to President Obama’s recent apology for millions of policy cancellations despite his earlier statement that we’d all be able to keep our health insurance, the news can be contradictory, confusing,
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