You may remember (or do some looking down our blog feed!) that February 15th was the last day you could get individual health insurance coverage through the Exchange or free market.  No, we didn’t lead you astray!  This is due to the open enrollment period coming to a close.  Leading up to the February 15, 2015 deadline many consumer enrollment systems (e.g. the Health Insurance Marketplace), experienced some issues that kept many of you...

The end of the 2014-2015 Individual Open Enrollment is about to end for those looking to get individual/family medical coverage as well as SHOP Coverage through the Federal Exchange as well as through the Private market.  If you or someone you know is trying to get the process completed through either avenue it must be done by the 15th or you better get ready for a year without coverage!  The only way coverage can be completed after the...

By Larry Grudzien, Attorney-at-law Can an employer reimburse its employees for premiums on a pre-tax basis for purchasing individual market medical coverage? Answer: No. In IRS Notice 2013-54 & Technical Release 2013-3, the IRS and DOL prohibit the reimbursement of premiums for individual medical policies from health reimbursement arrangements and premium only plans. The IRS and DOL indicate that such arrangements that help employees...

IRS recently released the Revenue Procedure 2014-30, which provides the 2015 cost-of-living contribution and coverage adjustments for Health Savings Accounts.  The annual contribution limits, the annual out-of-pocket limits and the annual deductible limits have all been increased for 2015.  This is great news for employers running H.S.A programs!   Annual HSA Contribution Amounts                2014   2015      Coverage Levels      ...

An Explanation of Benefits, or sometimes referred as an EOB is a document sent by an insurance provider to an enrollee and the enrollee’s healthcare/dental provider.  An EOB is produced in response to a claim for services.  It contains important information regarding the payment responsibilities of both the insurance company and the patient.  An insurance company is required to send an EOB to both the patient and their provider.  An EOB...

The brokerage gets the entitled question quite often. Barring the Healthcare reform conversation nationally there is some need to review what an individual would do if they were not eligible for individual health insurance coverage.  It is important to remember that this really applies to individuals whom are not under a group plan such as entrepreneurs, new college graduates, self-employed or early retiree’s.  Most people will have the...