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May 11, 2010 - The Affects of Health Care Reform on Employers and Executives
The passage of the long-debated Health Care Reform package created many
new challenges and opportunities for insured and self-funded employer
health care plans, employee benefit consultants and individuals, especially
executives. The time to start planning for these changes is now.
While this is not an examination of every detail in the Health Care Reform
bill, the following charts will help you identify the changes of greatest
importance to your business and develop a game plan for addressing them.
Note: Effective dates for union plans will not be earlier than the expiration
of the bargaining agreement in effect on March 23, 2010. To read the entire
article, click on the title above.
April
27, 2010 - Considerations - Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversion
In 2010, an important Roth IRA rule change went into effect as part of the Tax
Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act signed by President George W. Bush
in 2006. In the past, individuals could not convert their traditional IRA to
a Roth IRA if their income exceeded $100,000 and those who were married filing
separately could not convert regardless of what they earned. Effective January
1, 2010, traditional IRA holders are able to convert to a Roth IRA with no income
limit. Also, as a one-time offer for 2010 only, the law allows the taxes on the
entire conversion amount either to be reported in full for 2010, or spread out
equally over the next two tax years (2011 and 2012 only). The married-filing–separately
restriction was also repealed. Please click the title to read more.
April
15, 2010 - Health Care Reform Tax Changes: Who Wins and Who Pays?
The ‘Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’ (a/k/a “Health Care Reform”)
became law on March 23, 2010, with certain “fixes” contained in the ‘Health
Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010’ being signed into law one
week later on March 30, 2010. The combined legislation contains numerous
tax provisions. This On Point Position Paper will take a look at how it
will affect the federal tax picture and includes a timetable and brief
description of the key changes. To read the entire Position Paper, click
on the title.
October
26, 2009 - Why Healthcare Reform May Fail…Again
On September 16, 2009, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) found
out what happens when you give a party and nobody comes. On that date
he took the podium alone before a roomful of journalists and formally
announced his health care reform bill. Apparently, no colleagues from
either party were willing to stand with him. Small wonder, the legislation
included $500 billion in Medicare cuts, mandated universal coverage, member-owned
purchasing “co-ops”, a potential price tag only slightly below $1 trillion
and no public option. In short, it had something for everybody to dislike.
Is it possible that the phrase in italics is the reason why yet another
attempt to reform America’s health care system may fail? If every provision
in a Health Care Reform bill is opposed by someone, the accumulative affect
of this opposition could potentially defeat the bill.
October 12, 2009 - Around the Health Care Reform Debate
in Less Than Two Pages
The week ending October 9, 2009 was a quiet one compared with the frenzied
activity of previous weeks. Health Care Reform Fatigue Syndrome (HCRFS)
could be part of it; there may also be a growing sense of resignation out
there that the reform debate may be becoming more destructive than most
any reform itself could be. If true, this may be a dangerous mindset.
Nevertheless, the week was not without a few noteworthy developments. To
read the entire article, simply click on the title.
October 5, 2009 – Health Care Reform Update
The reform process is moving
ahead, albeit, slowly. Our paper this week examines two newsworthy items
that emerged during the past several days. On September 29th, the Senate
Finance Committee rejected two public option proposals. The second story
involves the growing concern over the potential penalty for failure to
comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance. Is it possible
that citizens who don’t buy individual health insurance could be sent to
prison? Click on the above title to read more.
September 28, 2009 - Health Care Reform – A Look at the Baucus Proposal
Health care reform proposals, particularly from the U.S. Senate, are coming
so quickly and are changing so fast that it is difficult to offer sound
commentary on their merits. Some of the most noteworthy proposals remain
visible for such a short time they are almost like subliminal messages.
Nevertheless, we have been able to glean a few common themes from the
Baucus bill now before the Senate Finance Committee. Even with their 564
amendments (yes, true!) we think these provisions may remain in play for
awhile. To read the entire article, simply click on the title.
September
11, 2009 - M&A Assessment of President
Obama's Health Care Speech to Congress
President Obama's Health Care Reform
speech of September 9th generated a huge volume of commentary. One can
only imagine the outpouring of "boos" and "yeas" from
every talking head and every television and radio show in the land. Our
hope is that the speech rekindles some forward movement on the much-needed
reform. In the meantime, we want to offer our comments on some of the key
points in the president's speech. To read the entire article, simply click
on the title.
September
4, 2009 - M&A On Point Position Paper - Health Care Reform - Is the
Public Option Doomed?
In the beginning, a Public Option was assumed to be
an integral part of Health Care Reform. However, in the past few weeks,
the strength of that assumption has weakened considerably. The question
now seems to be, will it even survive? For insight into that question,
just click the title above.
August
31, 2009 - M&A On Point Position Paper - The "Lion" Casts
a Huge Shadow Over Healthcare Reform Debate
Throughout his career, Senator Edward M. Kennedy fought to ensure that all
Americans would have access to high quality, affordable health care. His
death came at a time when the debate over Health Care Reform was at its
peak. Only time will tell what affect the passing of “The Lion of the Senate”
will have on the final legislation. To read the full article, just click
on the title.
August
19, 2009 - M&A On Point Position Paper - Health Care Reform
From the beginning, we have been monitoring developments in the Health Care
Reform debate, and what a debate it has been! Thankfully, Congress took
its summer recess and the pace of Reform has slowed. We took advantage of
this lull in the action to document some of our thoughts on the major points
of the pending reform. Our challenge was to comment on these issues before
they changed, which they seemed to do every hour. To read the full article,
just click on the title.
June
30, 2009 - Tax Deductibility of Unpaid Employee Welfare Benefit Claims
The rules governing the deductibility of Incurred
But Not Reported claims (IBNR) in an employee welfare benefit program are
complex. This complexity has led benefits and accounting professionals
of every stripe to offer incorrect interpretations to clients and employers.
The purpose of this Position Paper is to clarify those rules and the circumstances
under which employers may claim a deduction. To read the full article,
just click on the title.
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