April Issue of Team Player                                                                                   2010

Robert Rubin, CPA                        Deborah Diehl, esq.                          Tim Ross, CPA

Stronghold Advisors                      Whiteford Taylor and Preston             Clifton Gunderson    
                                           
The seminar will cover how to structure deals to avoid tax issues, legal issues within the transaction and tax issues within deals.  There is no cost for this seminar, but you will need to RSVP.   

To RSVP and/or request more information, send an email to: events@wtplaw.com


Health Care Reform

Unless you are living under a rock, you have heard about health care reform.  Over the past year the House and the Senate have worked on health insurance reform, with a stated goal that: lowers costs, guarantees choices, and enhances quality health care for all Americans.  On March 23rd, the President signed the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act."  On March 30th, the President signed the "Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act," which amended the original health care reform bill that was signed the prior week.
 
Time will tell if health care reform will accomplish its goals.  In the meantime, here are some snippets of the act that will go into effect this year.  

• Pre-existing conditions:  Provides eligible individuals access to coverage that does not impose any coverage exclusions for pre-existing health conditions.
• Small Business Tax Credit. Initiates the first phase of the small business tax credit for qualified small employers for contributions to purchase health insurance for employees. The credit is up to 35 percent of the employer's contribution to provide health insurance for employees. There is also up to a 25 percent credit for small nonprofit organizations.
• Eliminating Lifetime Limits and Restricting Use of Annual Limits. Prohibits lifetime limits on benefits in all group health plans and in the individual market and prohibits the use of restrictive annual limits. 
• Covering Preventive Health Services. All new group health plans and plans in the individual market must provide first dollar coverage for preventive services.
• Extending Dependent Coverage. Requires any group health plan or plan in the individual market that provides dependent coverage for children to continue to make that coverage available up to age 26.
• Early Retirees:  Creates a new temporary reinsurance program to help companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55-64.
• Website. Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish an Internet website through which residents of any State may identify affordable health insurance coverage options in that State. The website will also include information for small businesses about available coverage options, reinsurance for early retirees, small business tax credits, and other information of interest to small businesses.

For those who can't sleep at night, the entire 900+ page "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" and the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act, which only contains 150 pages, are available through the government printing office. 
The Department of Labor has published a summary and an employers guide on their website as well.   Of course, The HR Team is always there to help you with this and the many transitions that are to come. 


COBRA Is Amended Again

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), as amended on March 2, 2010 by the Temporary Extension Act of 2010, provides for premium reductions for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA.  The involuntary termination must generally occur during the period that began September 1, 2008 and ends on March 31, 2010. (An involuntary termination of employment that occurs on or after March 2, 2010 but by March 31, 2010 and follows a qualifying event that was a reduction of hours that occurred at any time from September 1, 2008 through March 31, 2010 is also a qualifying event for purposes of ARRA.) The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage that began on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to 15 months. See Temporary Extension Act of 2010.

As of this writing, the extension expired March 31.  However, before Congress went on recess they were working on extending the Act and may revisit upon return.

COBRA premium extension updated Q&A


Time Poverty

The most common problem in the workplace is "time poverty."  It's a term for not having enough time to handle all your work responsibilities. Putting in a lot of extra hours could help a little, but it's not the answer. Neither is trying to do two things at once.

Some steps that can help: 

• Become an expert at what you do.  Study the work practices of people who are very efficient and copy them.   You will find that they are extremely well organized.  Learn from experts in your field. 
• Decide on the most important thing.  Decide how to do it, and then concentrate on that alone until you are finished.  No email, phone calls or pleasantries for people who stop by to see you.  Tell them you can't stop now to chat or deal with anything else.
• Be open to new ideas.  Consultant Brian Tracy says some overwhelmed people think they already know all they need to know on a subject.  Never stop learning. 
• Be flexible.  Saying "I changed my mind" solves many uncomfortable situations people get into. They stay there because they are unwilling to admit they have changed their minds. 
• Face up to mistakes.  Saying you made a mistake is a sign of mental maturity, personal strength and individual character. 
• Become an expert on time management.  Read books, listen to audio programs and take a course.  Then practice every day until you master time management skills.

Readers Letters

Regarding our recent article, Workplace Health Insurance vs. Medicare, Linda Tice, Certified Financial Planner^® at PSA Insurance & Financial Services writes that, with so many people continuing in the workplace beyond age 65, it is usually a good thing to continue with your group health plan.  Waiting until retirement to enroll in Medicare (as long as prescription drug coverage through your group plan is "creditable") does not raise the cost of Medicare later.  There will be a Special Enrollment Period when you retire.  Certainly the government (and taxpayers) would prefer the burden be borne elsewhere and Medicare benefits delayed as long as possible. 

To learn more, visit the Medicare website.

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