New Law Changes Flexible Spending Plan

The new healthcare law has brought about some important changes in the flexible spending program. These changes could have a significant impact on your finances.

Flexible spending accounts can be used to keep pre-tax money for certain health care costs. You assess your health care needs and keep some money for the expenses. You can save about one-fifth of the costs in this way by using your pre-tax money. A flexible spending plan allows you to cover a number of health-related costs like over the counter medicines, sunscreens, eyeglasses, dental costs and so on. [Read more…]

Insurers Trying to Circumvent Healthcare Law

Major insurers are trying to change their accounting practices in order to bypass some of the restrictions under the new healthcare law. The law requires that large group plans should spend 85% of the premium amount on actual medical care and small plans must spend 80% of the amount. But it seems insurance companies are now trying to pass some administrative costs as medical costs in order to circumvent the law. [Read more…]

Obama’s Medicare Subsidy Changes to Hit Retirees Hard

President Obama’s healthcare overhaul may well spell trouble for retired employees. Several top companies with substantial staff, both on rolls and retired, have pointed out that this overhaul makes their drug benefit program for ex-employees expensive and non viable.

AT&T recently joined a growing list of US industry majors in broadcasting its whopping $1 billion expense owing to the healthcare policy modifications, which included dramatic changes to the taxation of Medicare subsidies. This figure is nearly a third of the phone company’s latest quarterly earnings. [Read more…]