health care

Health Insurance Tax Credits to Help Millions of Middle-Class Families in Affordable Insurance Exchanges

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As part of new regulations under Obama’s health care legislation the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today took the next steps to establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges – one-stop marketplaces where consumers can choose a private health insurance plan that fits their health needs and have the [...]

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2011 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Changes and Limits From 2010

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Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) have been around for a while now and many families use them as a tax advantaged way to save for health care related costs.  However, FSA are about to undergo some relatively significant changes in 2011 due to new Obama health care reform. If you use FSA or similar pre-tax accounts like [...]

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Buying Long-Term Care Insurance To Save For The High Cost of Assisted Living

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There’s a great deal of talk today about the “graying of America.” Thanks to advances in medical technology, many people are now living 20 or more years beyond normal retirement age. However, quite a few of these people must deal with poor health during those years. And, the increased longevity, coupled with expanded health care [...]

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2010 Obama Health Care Rules Effective Now – Under 26 Dependent and Pre-existing Conditions Coverage

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With the passage of health care reform, a major political achievement for the Obama administration, Americans will finally start seeing the actual impacts of many of these new laws. These changes will only initially impact people who buy new policies or are in plans where the coverage year is about to expire. But by 2011 most [...]

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Expiring Bush Tax Cuts and What’s Ahead in 2011 to 2013 for Taxes on Income, Medicare, Capital Gains, Dividends and Estates

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[Update] While Democrats and Republicans alike want to keep the 2001 and 2003 tax reductions for families earning up to $250,000, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats want to end the break for those who earn more. Republicans, contending a recovery from recession is no time to raise taxes, insist on continuing the Bush-era cuts [...]

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How Individuals can Control and Cut Health Insurance Costs

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There has been a lot of debate over health care reform the past year and how to control rising health care costs.  While many experts are unsure whether the passed health care legislation will actually control costs, Americans can still work to control their own medical costs by shopping around for the most cost effective [...]

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How Will Health Care Reform Affect My Employer or Company Sponsored Benefits?

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Even though President Obama and Congress have signed into law sweeping health care reform many employees are still in the dark about how their employer sponsored health care benefits will be affected and wondering when new provisions in the approved health care bills will go into effect. Rather than reading through thousands of pages of [...]

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$250 Medicare Drug Coverage Gap Rebate for Seniors To Be Paid in 2010 Under Obama Health Care Reform

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[Update] The government is starting to mail out the tax free $250 medicare gap  checks to seniors who fall into the program’s gap in prescription drug coverage. This so called Medicare “doughnut hole,” payment (detailed below) was part of the recently enacted Health care reform bill. If you have Medicare prescription drug coverage, and aren’t already [...]

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2010 HIRE Act – Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, Payroll Tax Incentive and Business Credit For Employers Hiring and Retaining Unemployed Workers

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[Updated with New IRS provisions] The IRS has released more details on tax-saving opportunities included in recently enacted HIRE act federal legislation (see details in previous update below). A variety of business tax deductions and credits were created, extended and expanded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), this year’s Hiring Incentives [...]

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Obama Health Care Reform Rules and TimeLines, Medicare Rebates, FSA/HSA Changes, Family Coverage and Lifetime Caps

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[Update Sep 2010] Several New Health Care Rules Effective Now With the passage of health care reform a major political achievement for the Obama administration, Americans will finally start seeing the actual impacts of many of these new laws. The main changes are discussed in the previous updates below, but here are the key new [...]

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Claiming the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit plus Employer Fines, 2010 Tax Credits and Employee Subsidies

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[Update Dec 2010] The IRS has released final guidance for small employers eligible to claim the new small business health care tax credit for the 2010 tax year.  The IRS have also provide a one-page form and instructions  for small employers to use for claiming the credit for the 2010 tax year. New Form 8941, [...]

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Understanding Obama’s 2009 Health Care Reform Plan – What’s in it for You and How Much Will it Cost Tax Payers

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[Updated August 2009] Confused about the Obama health care plan and where it is at? Well, you can join millions of other’s in this boat. Despite all the media coverage many Americans are still not sure what Obama’s health care reform is about and this makes them wary of supporting it. Today the main version [...]

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