Blog
Why the Cadillac Tax Had to Go
“It defies logic to argue that employee salary deferrals – compensation that employees choose to take in the form of tax-advantaged funds to reimburse their personal financial responsibility for care – fall within any logical definition of premium.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance January 23, 2020 The budget deal to which.. Read more
Strengthening Medicare and Seniors’ Finances
That’s hardly a formula for preserving Medicare, is it? Someone else was willing to assume full financial responsibility for your claims, but Social Security rules forced you to enroll in Medicare and forego some of the financial benefits of your group coverage. And then faced with the loss of financial benefits of a Health Savings.. Read more
My Christmas Wish List
“This rule hurts people who participate in a Health Savings Account program. They’re retroactively disqualified from six months of eligibility to make and receive contributions. . . . If they’re unaware, they must either withdraw funds subsequently or remain blissfully unaware and face taxes, penalties, and anxiety if they learn of this rule during an.. Read more
Capital Update
“My favorite lobbyist is fond of comparing legislation to a train. With any legislative effort, he wonders: Where is the train going? How powerful is the engine? How many cars can it pull? In other words, it’s often not the merits of a piece of legislation, but rather how to attach it to a relevant.. Read more
Don’t Let IRMAA Crash Your Retirement Party
“To quote those commercials for 70s rock CDs, grout cleaners, and chia pets, ‘But wait, there’s more.’ . . . Health Savings Accounts appear, by my math, to be septuple-tax-advantaged account – with four distinct advantages over traditional 401(k) plans and IRAs.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy and Compliance November 14, 2019 You’ve.. Read more
Tools to Manage Rising Premiums
“A far more effective approach is defined contribution. An employer offers a flat contribution to each employee . . . When employees pay the entire difference in premiums, they tend to choose the less-costly plan. And employers can set their budgets well in advance, since they’ve fixed their cost per employee.” William G. (Bill) Stuart.. Read more
Uberize My Medical Care, Please
My doctor replied, “Don’t worry about cost. Insurance pays for it.” I responded, “Not exactly. First, I have a deductible that I haven’t satisfied, so I’ll be paying. Second, insurers don’t pay claims. Insurers write checks. My employer and I pay for all services, whether directly through my deducible or next year through premium increases.”.. Read more
Surprise! Billing Legislation Bogs Down
“Most senators represent states in which the leading delivery system is one of the largest and most influential employers. In addition, most states – unlike many congressional districts – have rural hospitals that are affected by federal policies like Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. Senators have to worry about whether legislation would affect the supply.. Read more
Avoid the HSA-Health FSA Compliance Collison
“An employer best practice is to run the medical plan and the Health FSA concurrently. That way, employees can review changes in cost-sharing in medical plan each year to make the appropriate health FSA election. They usually can’t open their Health FSA mid-year to alter their elections to reflect changes in their projected out-of-pocket costs.”.. Read more
Age 65 in Sight? Avoid Some Pitfalls
“The decision around when to sign up for Social Security benefits is complicated . . . Just be aware that one of the negative consequences of collecting Social Security benefits is that if you’re age 65 or older, you can’t make or receive additional Health Savings Account contributions.” William G. (Bill) Stuart Director of Strategy.. Read more
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