On January 3, 2012, the IRS issued additional interim guidance on the W-2 reporting requirement that is part of health care reform. In this guidance, the IRS confirms that employers filing fewer than 250 W-2s are not required to report the value of health benefits. This guidance extends that relief until further guidance is issued. Additionally, the [...]
Child Only Coverage
January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Anthem is offering Child-Only health coverage in KY during open enrollment in January 2012 Eligibility Requirements: Under 19 years of age and a resident of KY Enroll during open enrollment (Jan 1, 2012 – Jan 31, 2012) Other Important Information: Do not cancel current health coverage until your policy has been approved and issued One [...]
Blood Donation
December 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Generic for Lipitor Now Available
December 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
On November 30, 2011 Ranbaxy Laboratories launched the generic equivalent for Lipitor, atorvastatin. Ranbaxy will be the sole manufacturer of this generic drug for the next 180 days. Other manufacturers of the drug will be available in May 2012. The savings at the beginning will be minimal, but once May 2012 roles around we should [...]
Long-Term Care Costs Continue To Rise
November 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
According to a 2011 MetLife market survey of Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Adult Day Services and Home Care Costs national average rates for a private nursing home room increased 4.4% to $239 daily or $87,235 annually. Some other statistics: In 2010 66% of nursing home residents were women. The median age of residents was 82.7. [...]
Small Business Tax Credit
October 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment
With businesses winding down for the 2011 calender year, this tax credit calculation tool will come in handy to the many small business customers that health insurance companies have. This link is from United Health Care and goes over the small business tax credit. Certain small businesses that offer health benefits are now eligible for [...]
Uninsured Rise and the CLASS ACT
October 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In September, the U.S. Census Bureau released their annual report on poverty, income, and the uninsured and the numbers reflect another rise in uninsured Americans. Here are some highlights from this report: The total number of uninsured rose to 49.9 million, an increase of almost a million Americans in one year The number of uninsured [...]
Small Business Insurance
August 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Designing, implementing and overseeing an effective employee benefits plan can be an overwhelming venture — especially for someone who is dealing with other personnel issues. At Zinser Benefit Service, employee benefits are our business. Our job is to make your job of administering your company’s benefit program easier. Small Business Insurance
Immunizations
August 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
At the end of this post you will find a newsletter that United Health Care has put together about Immunizations. I found this very helpful because there is an awful lot of information out there about vaccinations, and how some are harmful while others aren’t. Hopefully this will shed some light on this subject. Immunization [...]
Brand Name Drugs vs. Generic Drugs
June 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
One of the driving factors for the increase of medical insurance premiums is the cost of prescription drugs. There is a prescription for everything. Twenty years ago, we weren’t walking into our doctor’s office asking for a prescription by name. Today we know the names of the prescription we want to take, and we ask [...]
