Great Tax Break for Small Business Group Insurance

The Gelker and Rohrer Insurance Agency has learned that in 2010 small businesses can get a tax credit of up to 35% of the premium of a small group health plan. This is a tax credit, not a tax deduction and that makes this a great deal. If you have a business and do not have a group insurance plan contact our agency for a quote. With a tax credit of up to 35%, the net cost to you could be substantially less than your current coverage.The Gelker and Rohrer Insurance agency is not a tax expert and we recommend you contact your tax adviser to see if your business qualifies. See IRS eligibility rules below or follow this link to the IRS sight for more information.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html

Eligibility Rules

• Providing health care coverage. A qualifying employer must cover at least 50 percent of the cost of health care coverage for some of its workers based on the single rate.
• Firm size. A qualifying employer must have less than the equivalent of 25 full-time workers (for example, an employer with fewer than 50 half-time workers may be eligible).
• Average annual wage. A qualifying employer must pay average annual wages below $50,000.
• Both taxable (for profit) and tax-exempt firms qualify.

Amount of Credit

• Maximum Amount. The credit is worth up to 35 percent of a small business' premium costs in 2010. On Jan. 1, 2014, this rate increases to 50 percent (35 percent for tax-exempt employers).
• Phase-out. The credit phases out gradually for firms with average wages between $25,000 and $50,000 and for firms with the equivalent of between 10 and 25 full-time workers.

Three Simple Steps for Employers to Qualify

To determine if your small business or tax exempt organization qualifies for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, follow the three simple steps on our fact sheet.

OBAMACARE - What You Can Expect For 2010

After hours of webinars with our insurance associations the Gelker and Rohrer Insurance Agency has learned what to expect in 2010 from the Obamacare health care reform legislation.
For individuals- Temporary high risk pools for persons unable to get health insurance through the normal carrier underwriting process, dependents covered up to age 26 as a dependent, coverage for pre-existing conditions for children under 19 years of age (Even if married.), coverage for specific preventive care services and in network coverage of emergency services regardless of provider.For Group Insurance- No lifetime dollar benefits limitation, coverage for dependents up to age 26 (Even if married.), No pre-existing conditions limitations on children age 19 and under, coverage for specific preventive care services and in network coverage of emergency services regardless of provider. You can contact us at our Costa Mesa, California office if you have any questions about the Obamacare health care reform legislation.

Health Care Reform- Real Health Care Savngs

Great Article that the Gelker and Rohrer Insurance Agency agrees with.

• By Marty Trussell

While the folks in Washington talk about how to reform the health care system, many of the nation’s employers and state governments are actually making it happen. They are finding ways not only to control costs, but also to provide better care.

The latest example comes from America’s heartland – Indiana – where five years ago, newly elected Governor Mitch Daniels asked that a consumer-directed health insurance option, or Health Savings Account (HSA), be added to the conventional plans then available to state employees. He thought that the plan may interest a few of the state’s 30,000 employees.

Today the HSA option has proven to be popular with more than just a few. This year, over 70 percent of the state’s workers chose it and with good reason. The employees enrolled in the consumer-driven plan will save more than $8 million in 2010 compared to their co-workers in the old-fashioned preferred provider organization (PPO) alternative. That’s a pretty nice pay increase for workers who have seen their salaries frozen for the last two years.

In addition to saving money on premiums in tough economic times, these Hoosiers are putting lots of cash away in their HSAs – some $30 million or about $2,000 per employee and growing fast.

Most importantly, the state says it is seeing significant changes in behavior, and consequently lower total costs. For example, employees who opted for the HSA are less likely to go to the emergency room, the doctor or be admitted to the hospital, and they are more likely to take generic drugs. Skimping on care, are they? The state says there is no evidence HSA members are more likely to defer needed care or common-sense preventive measures such as routine physicals or mammograms.

Yes, health care reform has already come to Indiana in the form a consumer-directed health plan. It turns out that, when someone is spending their own money, they are indeed far more likely to ask the questions and make rational choices.

Washington might want think about that before it enacts more top-down balloon squeezing.

Source: Mitch Daniels, “Hoosiers and Health Savings Accounts; An Indiana experiment that is reducing costs for the state and its employees,” Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2010.

While the folks in Washington talk about how to reform the health care system, many of the nation’s employers and state governments are actually making it happen. They are finding ways not only to control costs, but also to provide better care.

The latest example comes from America’s heartland – Indiana – where five years ago, newly elected Governor Mitch Daniels asked that a consumer-directed health insurance option, or Health Savings Account (HSA), be added to the conventional plans then available to state employees. He thought that the plan may interest a few of the state’s 30,000 employees.

Today the HSA option has proven to be popular with more than just a few. This year, over 70 percent of the state’s workers chose it and with good reason. The employees enrolled in the consumer-driven plan will save more than $8 million in 2010 compared to their co-workers in the old-fashioned preferred provider organization (PPO) alternative. That’s a pretty nice pay increase for workers who have seen their salaries frozen for the last two years.

In addition to saving money on premiums in tough economic times, these Hoosiers are putting lots of cash away in their HSAs – some $30 million or about $2,000 per employee and growing fast.

Most importantly, the state says it is seeing significant changes in behavior, and consequently lower total costs. For example, employees who opted for the HSA are less likely to go to the emergency room, the doctor or be admitted to the hospital, and they are more likely to take generic drugs. Skimping on care, are they? The state says there is no evidence HSA members are more likely to defer needed care or common-sense preventive measures such as routine physicals or mammograms.

Yes, health care reform has already come to Indiana in the form a consumer-directed health plan. It turns out that, when someone is spending their own money, they are indeed far more likely to ask the questions and make rational choices.

Washington might want think about that before it enacts more top-down balloon squeezing.

Source: Mitch Daniels, “Hoosiers and Health Savings Accounts; An Indiana experiment that is reducing costs for the state and its employees,” Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2010.

First Look at OBAMACARE Reform - OUCH!

After spending on hour on a conference call with hundreds of insurance advisers across the U.S. I was very disappointed with the first look at the opening stages of the OBAMACARE Health Reform legislation enacted last month. The Senate bill does nothing to control the cost of treatment, doctor care or hospitalization, the true drivers of rising health insurance premium. What it will do is mandate certain benefits, raise taxes on small business, increase premiums on the young and create a federal bureaucracy that controls what was once a States area of expertise. The Gelker and Rohrer Insurance Agency will help educate our clients on the best way to navigate this new federal government program and influence the decision making process of the federal government as they try to implement the new legislation.