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IRS issues guidance on W-2 reporting

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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 release indicates that specialty coverage, if included with medical benefits, must be reported.

The guidance reaffirms that this is a reporting requirement only and does not impact employees’ taxable wages.

Questions and Answers:

Q:   Are specialty products, if offered as one plan to an employee, included in the W-2 reporting requirement?

A:    According to the latest guidance from the IRS, yes. If the products are embedded or provided together, the total must be reported.

Q:   How do contingent premium groups report the value of health benefits under the W-2 reporting requirement?

A:    Please refer any customers with this question to their own tax and/or legal advisers as we do not provide tax advice. The latest information from the IRS related to the W-2 reporting requirement can be found at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-09.pdf and may provide additional guidance.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

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November is Diabetes Awareness Month.  This is a cause that we personally have a stake in because my father in law had diabetes.  Our family participates in the Louisville ADA walk each year.  I’m also proud to say that my wife’s family is the number one fund-raising family and friends team.  They’ve been number one now for I’d say at least the last six years.

Here’s your newsletter

Diabetes Newsletter

Small Business Tax Credit

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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 health care tax credits. These vary depending on the tax-exempt status of the organization and employer contribution toward health benefits.

  • Eligible employers must pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees.
  • There must be no more than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, not counting owners or their family members.
  • Average annual wages of employees must be less than $50,000 per FTE.
We are not tax advisors, so please consult your personal tax advisor if you have any questions regarding this tax credit.

Uninsured Rise and the CLASS ACT

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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 with household incomes over $75,000 totaled 9.5 million.
  • The number of children enrolled in private insurance dropped by 2.8 million, while the number of children enrolled in Medicaid plans rose by 3.5 million, a 15% increase.

Health Insurance Rate Reviews

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Here is a recent article about the rate review process that was started on September 1st of this year.  HHS released a statement stating how this rate review process has helped keep premiums down.  However, an industry trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) states that the rate reviews focus too much on rate increases and not enough on the real issue, rising cost of doing business in the medical industry.

As of the writing of this article, there appears to be at least 8 states this year who have won in getting health insurance companies that were asking for double digit increases to lower their renewals.  Kentucky is not one of these states.

There appears to be some validity to HHS promoting the success of these rate reviews.  This article doesn’t go into why or how the states that have succeeded in getting double digit rate increases overturned, just that there are more states getting grants from the federal government to assist in these rate reviews.

http://aishealth.com//archive/nhpw092611-04

 

 

 

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