Ronstadt Insurance guarantees to help you find the most affordable health insurance in Arizona to fit your needs. We guarantee that whichever insurance you buy with our assistance, health, life, disability, dental, long term care or Medicare Supplement, will satisfy your needs at the best price possible.
Representatives Charles Boustany, Republican from Louisiana, and Mike Thompson, Democrat from California, introduced H.R. 5860 to allow small employers with 49 or fewer employees to provide reimbursement or payment of their employee’s individual medical plan premiums on a pre-tax basis.
The introduction of the Bill is in recognition of the prohibition in health care reform of such a practice by any employer, specifically the guidance in Technical Release 2013-03. While some employers and vendors of arrangements to provide for reimbursement of individual medical plan premiums might welcome passage of the Bill, the website Govtrack.us carries a prognosis that there is a 2% chance the Bill will be enacted.
Consequently, unless and until the Bill is enacted, employers should refrain from reimbursing or paying the premiums for any employee’s individual medical insurance plan on a pre-tax basis. Failure to do so could result in a penalty of $100 per day per employee for whom such reimbursement or payment is made.
If you have any questions, give us a call at (520) 721-4848.
Beginning in plan year 2015, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) will no longer be able to renew groups that do not have at least 1 enrolled common law employee when the business is wholly owned by an Individual or by the Individual and his or her spouse; in order for a Sole Proprietor group to renew their group health plan with BCBSAZ they must enroll at least 1 common law employee.
Prior to the group’s renewal the group will be asked the question listed below on their Group Size Questionnaire. If the answer to this question is “No”, BCBSAZ will not able to renew the small group health plan.
As of the start of your upcoming plan year, will you employ and enroll at least one common law employee? Yes ______ or No _____.
Please Note: If you or you and your spouse are the only owners of the business and the only enrollees, do not count yourselves as employees for purposes of responding to this question.
If you have any questions, please contact us at (520) 721-4848
If your Medicare Advantage Plan or Medicare Part D plan is not renewing in 2015, you should have received a notice from your plan by October 2, 2014 stating this change, your rights and options for other health coverage.
One of your rights is a Special Election Period (SEP) to join a new Medicare Advantage Plan. The SEP began December 8, 2014 and closes February 28, 2014. Your new coverage will become effective the first day of the following month.
Please contact us if you have questions and if you would like to enroll in a new plan for February 2015. (520) 721-4848
Th
e Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC) recently reiterated and clarified the IRS stance on individual medical plans for employees:
Employers that pay for or reimburse the premiums of individual medical plans for its employees on a pre-tax basis are in violation of IRS regulation. Any benefit administrator who claims otherwise is subjecting their clients to an excise tax of $100 a day per covered employee, or $36,500 a year. The ECFC issued this release so as to warn employers not to violate regulation, and to dissuade any benefit administrators from marketing any such arrangements that violate IRS regulation.
If you know anyone that is still reimbursing their employees’ individual medical plans on a pre-tax basis, notifying them about this penalty. It could save them a great deal of trouble. Or have them call us at (520) 721-4848 and we can help.
