Do Not Forget to Include Medical Costs in Your Financial Planning

Most of us conveniently ignore to include the health insurance cost in our financial plans for future. Though you may be hale and hearty now or your company may be taking care of your health insurance, it is for a fact that you will need more and more medical assistance as you grow in age. It’s best to plan for these costs when you are no longer going to be covered by your company. [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…]

Planning for Changes in Healthcare Laws

The healthcare scenario is going to change significantly because of the reform bill passed by the Obama administration. Health insurance will become compulsory for the majority of the population and failure to get it could lead to a penalty. Though many of the changes are still far away, you should start thinking about how you will adjust to the new system. [Read more…]

How the Healthcare Reform Impacts You

More than 30 million Americans are likely to benefit from the new health care coverage bill signed into law recently. The bill was cleared with a 219-212 vote by the senate a few days back after an extended period of discussions and debate.

Coming on the heels of other health care reforms, the $940 billion plan brings new hope to many Americans who have not been able to claim any aid from the government for their health care expenses. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will modify the insurance coverage for children and senior citizens too. One significant change here is that young people will still be covered by parental insurance policies up to the age of 26. This eliminates the pressure on them if they are unable to find jobs before this but require expensive medical treatment. [Read more…]

Substantial Increase in Health Care Expenses for Employers

A new health care regime is being ushered in the U.S. that is likely to cost a great deal to companies. It has been reported that the increase in the health care expenditure will not be offset by the small tax relief and would significantly change the costs for the companies. [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…]

How Health Insurance Deductibles Can Reduce Your Premiums

Health insurance premiums are recurring expenses that have to be met consistently and on time in order to ensure proper coverage for medical expenses. In tough times like the recent recession, such recurring expenses can put a huge strain on finances causing many people to default on payments and leave themselves exposed to further financial burden when medical emergencies occur. [Read more…]

Stock Market Not Worried About Healthcare Reform

Ever since the discussions on the Healthcare bill started, critics have always argued that it is anti capitalism and against industry. However if the immediate reaction of the stock market is anything to go by, it does not seem that investors in pharmaceutical or insurance companies, or for that matter any other sector of the market, are too worried about the bill. [Read more…]