US Health Care Plan

Why is this provision in the law? It is there to assist the IRS in determining who has health insurance and who does not, because when health reform is fully implemented, there will be penalties for people who do not have health insurance and increased taxes starting in 2018 for the so-called "cadillac" plans -- plans that have a value above $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for family policies.

Requiring employers to report the value of the health insurance they provide employees is not a bad idea, by the way. Most people have little idea how much their employer contributes, because they pay only a portion of the premium -- usually around 20 to 30%. The W2 will make it clear just what the value of that insurance is to the employee.

If you want an excellent summary of the provisions of the new law, go to the Kaiser Family Foundation (no relation to Kaiser health plans) website and look at the section on "new taxes." As mentioned above, employer provided health insurance is NOT taxable and the law does NOT change that provision.

There are no fewer than 4,250 "hits" on Google related to the key words "HR3590 and 2011 W 2 forms". Most of these sites repeat the misrepresentation of this provision in exactly the same words as the original email. Few sites question the accuracy of the information and most are fairly hysterical about it. In fact, I was only able to make it through 8 pages of the Google search before I gave up on websites such as well regulated American militias, swamp bubbles, duck south, and divorce forum. So if you receive this email or hear about it -- pass along the accurate information!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-ber ... 41937.html

In General, beginning in 2018 (not 2011), H.R. 3590 imposes a 40% excise tax on the value of employer-sponsored medical insurance that exceeds a given threshold (initially $27,000 annually). Although “the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage” will be reported on employees’ W-2 forms, the excise tax would be paid by the insurance company, not the employee, and is initially expected to affect fewer than 10% of families covered by health insurance.

This fall, under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance plans will be required to cover preventative care services without charging the patient a deductible or co-payment.
Preventative care includes certain cancer screenings, blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol tests and counseling services and routine vaccines.

And, on HealthCare.gov, you can not only learn what preventive steps will help keep your family healthy, but also what insurance coverage options are available based on your needs.

A focus on prevention will help us to combat diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure -- chronic illnesses that right now lead to seven of ten deaths in the United States and 75 percent of our national health care costs.

And it will help us tackle an issue that is dear to my heart -- childhood obesity. As some of you know one of my top priorities as First Lady is the Let's Move! campaign, where we have made it our goal to put a stop to the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so children who are born today grow up at a healthy weight.

Each of us needs to take responsibility for our own health and the health of our families, and the new health reform law can help. That's why I'm writing today -- to make sure you and Americans across the country know how their health plans are getting better day by day under reform.

Please visit HealthCare.gov and find out more about your care:

www.healthcare.gov

Thank you,

Michelle Obama

Here's a rundown of six consumer protections that go into effect on Thursday:

1. Coverage for Children with Pre-Existing Conditions
Insurance companies are no longer permitted to exclude from coverage pre-existing conditions in enrollees 18 and under. This provision, while wildly popular in the abstract, comes with a long list of caveats. There's nothing in the law that prevents insurers from charging as much as they want to cover the costs of paying for pre-existing conditions. While all group plans, like those provided by employers, will fall under this new rule, individual policies that existed before March 23, 2010, aren't subject to it. Since new child-only plans will have to cover pre-existing conditions, some insurers have opted not to sell them at all. The government estimates that 31,000 to 72,000 uninsured children could gain coverage because of this new rule and that up to 90,000 who have insurance but with a pre-existing-condition exclusion could get new coverage for their conditions — provided they can afford it.

2. Ban on Lifetime Limits and Restrictions on Annual Limits
Insurers are no longer allowed to set a lifetime limit on benefits. This is particularly helpful to people with very expensive or long-term health problems. The government estimates that about 20,000 people in the U.S. hit their lifetime limits every year. The law also begins phasing out annual limits on coverage. Except for individual plans purchased before March 23, 2010, which may have "grandfathered status," all plans issued or renewed between Sept. 23, 2010, and Sept. 23, 2011, will not be able to set annual limits lower than $750,000. (The limit is raised each year until it is eliminated in 2014.) Not all plans have annual limits, and some are already higher than this, meaning the new rule will affect fewer than 2 million plans, according to federal estimates. For plans that currently have limits below $750,000 and will therefore have to make changes, the government predicts premiums will increase by percentages in the single digits. (See the top 10 players in health care reform.)

3. Ban on Rescissions
Insurance companies are no longer allowed to retroactively cancel policies just because people made inadvertent errors on their enrollment forms. Such action by insurers, while rare, is often egregious and a way for insurers to avoid paying for care when their customers become very ill. The new rule states that insurers can only rescind policies if enrollees are found to have committed fraud. The ban on unfair rescissions is, like coverage of pre-existing conditions in children, wildly popular but will affect only a small number of people. The government estimates that there are about 10,700 rescissions every year.

4. Coverage for Young Adults
Insurance companies must allow parents to include children age 25 or younger as dependents on their policies. Children 25 and under can join their parents' policies even if they are not listed as a dependent for tax purposes and even if they don't live with their parents. However, as with coverage for children with pre-existing conditions, there are a number of caveats that apply to this new rule. Some plans that existed before the Affordable Care Act was signed, on March 23, 2010 — like those that maintain grandfathered status — will not be required to extend dependent coverage to these young adults if they can get their own insurance through work. Children ages 19-25 who have pre-existing conditions may face exclusion periods. Plus, about half the states already allow adult children to be included as dependents. Still, up to about 2.5 million young adults could gain new coverage.

5. Free Preventive Care
Insurers must cover preventive care without requiring enrollees to cough up co-pays or co-insurance. The rule applies only to preventive care delivered by practitioners in an insurer's network. Plans with grandfathered status do not have to abide by this new rule. Procedures, screenings and tests that are considered preventive will be determined by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (for vaccines) and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

6. Other New Rules
Regulations that kick in on Thursday also allow people more freedom to choose doctors within their insurers' networks and freedom to receive covered care in emergency rooms even if they are not pre-approved. Insurers also must follow a strict set of guidelines when handling claim appeals.