ACA Affordability Percentage Will Decrease For 2020

On July 23, 2019, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2019-29 to index the contribution percentages in 2020 for determining affordability of an employer’s plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For plan years beginning in 2020, employer- sponsored coverage will be considered affordable if the employee’s required contribution for self-only coverage does not exceed:

9.78% of the employee’s household income for the year, for purposes of both the pay or play rules and premium tax credit eligibility; and

8.24% of the employee’s household income for the year, for purposes of an individual mandate exemption (adjusted under separate guidance). Although this penalty was reduced to zero in 2019, some individuals may need to claim an exemption for other purposes.

For more information on how this may impact your company-sponsored Health Plan, give us a call at (520) 721-4848.

Keeping Kids Healthy And Sane In A Digital World – from Kaiser Health News

Smartphones, tablets and video consoles can be addictive. They interfere with sleep. They draw kids into an alternate universe, often distracting them from more productive — and healthier — real-world activities. And they are linked to anxiety and depression, learning disabilities and obesity.

That’s according to a growing body of research emphasizing the physical and psychological dangers of heavy screen use.

“Nobody should spend eight or nine hours doing anything except sleeping and working,” says Dr. Sina Safahieh, medical director of ASPIRE, the teen mental health program run by Hoag Hospital in Orange County, Calif.

Yet for many teenagers, mine included, cellphones and social media are also indispensable tools for planning their social lives, keeping up with schoolwork and staying in touch with out-of-town friends and relatives.

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This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.