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Health Plans Information
The celebration following the federal government's increase in the estate tax exemption to $5.25 million is, perhaps, destined to be short lived. President Obama’s proposed budget plan for 2014 came out on April 10, and proposes substantial changes to the estate and income tax code. These changes would mean real changes in estate planning.
According to the budget plan, the federal estate tax rate will increase from 40 to 45 percent. The individual exemption equivalent will be reduced from $5.25 million to $3.5 million, and it will not adjust upward over time to keep pace with inflation. This means that as time goes on and inflation increases, people will surpass the exemption mark due to appreciation in the value of their estate, and be subject to federal estate taxes. Further, these changes are proposed as "permanent changes" meaning that they will not sunset or lapse in time.
The lifetime gifting exemption equivalent is also affected, since the gift and estate taxes use a unified exemption. The maximum amount that a person can leave his or her family in combined taxable lifetime gifts and inheritance is thus reduced from $5.25 million, which increases with inflation, to a non-adjusting maximum of $3.5 million.
Limiting Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
More surprising and substantive changes are proposed for sophisticated estate plans. A GRAT (grantor retained annuity trust) is a tax-reducing trust popular for giving assets to family members while retaining an income benefit for some defined period of time. The grantor puts his or her assets into the trust and receives an annuity which pays a fixed amount each year. Gift tax is paid when the GRAT is created and the tax is based upon the present value of the remainder of the trust, meaning that the value of the gift, for gift tax purposes is substantially less than the actual fair market value of the assets. One of the real challenges in such planning is that if the grantor dies before the trust ends, the assets become part of the grantor's taxable estate,and the purpose for the trust, reducing estate taxes, is frustrated.. If the grantor survives the term of the trust, any assets left to the beneficiary — usually the grantor’s children — are tax free. GRATs have typically been short-term trusts to make it more likely that the grantor survives beyond the term of the trust.
The proposed budget will require a minimum trust term of ten (10) years for all GRATS. This defined longer term makes it more likely that the grantor may die during the trust’s existence, and increases the chances that the trust does nothing to reduce the value of the taxable estate. If death of the grantor occurs within the ten year term, the trust is taxed as part of estate, effectively losing nearly half its value to federal estate taxes. The proposed budget, therefore, limits greatly the attractiveness of GRATS as an estate planning option.
Eliminating Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
The proposed budget also effectively eliminates intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGT). An IDGT is used to freeze the value of appreciating assets for tax purposes. This strategy allows the grantor to be the owner of the assets for income tax purposes but it removes the value of the assets from the grantor’s taxable estate. As the value of the trust increases, the transferor receives the income earned by the assets (and pays tax on the income) but the assets grow outside of the transferor’s estate.
Under proposed budget:, there would be no separation in the tax codes for this trust. Estate or gift tax would have to be paid on the trust at the time of the owner’s death. This would make the IDGT obsolete.
Signalling a Change?
Perhaps the most significant change reflected in the proposed budget is that the federal government has, once again, returned to a lack of appreciation for the benefits of certainty and stability in estate and business planning. Among the reasons that many celebrated the recent changes to the estate tax code (recent being changes adopted at the last minute, less than six months ago), is that the inflation adjustment and portability provisions signaled, to some, an appreciation for long-term stability and certainty. It appeared to some that having resolved the estate tax exemption amount, and having adjusted it automatically for inflation over time, the federal government was, in effect, acknowledging the need for stability and certainty, eschewing uncertainty, and detrimental periodic and last minute legislative changes.
Of course, perhaps the proposed budget is really the "same as it ever was."
This article is based in large part on an article by Phoebe Venable, entitled "Obama's Budget Plan would Hit Estate Plans Hard," published May 11, 2013, in the Tennessean, and available Medicare officials have proposed changes in hospital admission rules in an effort to reduce the rising number of beneficiaries who are placed in "observation care" but not admitted to the hospital. When a patient is placed in observation care, but not formally admitted to the hospital, the patient is often rendered ineligible for nursing home coverage. Patients must spend three consecutive inpatient days in the hospital before Medicare will cover nursing home care ordered by a doctor.
Observation patients don't qualify, even if they have been in the hospital for three days because they are outpatients and have not been admitted. If the patient was in the hospital for three days, but under observation as an out-patient, and then is referred to a nursing home, the patient is solely responsible for the cost of care in the nursing home.
Adding insult to injury, these patients also often realize higher out-of-pocket costs than admitted patients while in the hospital, including higher copayments and charges for non-covered medications. Observation is generally cheaper than inpatient care for insurers and hospitals, but the opposite can hold true formany patients. Many patients have supplemental coverage that picks up the portion of her hospital bill Medicare does not pay, but observation patients without other coverage typically pay 20 percent of hospital outpatient services, which isn't required for inpatient care.
One might think that patients would object to the practice, but sadly, patients are usually wholly unaware that they are being treated as out-patients, since they are, after all, in a hospital. This lack of notice and knowledge renders the patient impotent to protect his or her own interests, and to control his or her costs. Hospitals are simply not required to tell patients they are under observation care. Most do not. A few web portals have come up with their unique healthy diet plans that are helpful in meeting the nutritional requirements of the body. The sites can provide healthy eating tips that can help you in controlling the sugar intake. The consumption of excessive sugar can become the main reason for diabetes type two, heart diseases and immune dysfunction. You can adopt healthy eating plans available on the sites for a better life. Fast Food Statistics gathered from across the globe have showcased that consumption of greasy burgers and fries can increase the weight and lead to obesity. Healthy eating guidelines stress that consumption of fast food on a regular basis is not good for the body. Consumption of Quarter Pounder with cheese can add around 510 calories to the body. Out of the above mentioned 510 calories, around 230 calories increase the fat in your body. This is sufficient to indicate that fast food does not help in achieving a healthy body.
Every day a number of cases of obesity are being reported around the world. In such a situation, people often wonder what could be the healthy foods to eat. If you too have been thinking about it for long and are truly perplexed then you must switch to organic foods without any delay. One can easily find certified organic foods that are not just healthier but tastier as well. Once you adopt the healthy diet plans you can start consuming farm fresh fruits and vegetables that do not have any toxic chemicals and observe a great change in your skin texture. The body will respond positively towards natural and pesticide-free food products.
Fruits are an important source of nutrition for the body and are an integral part of healthy diet plans. Fruits like bananas, berries, apples and tomatoes can undoubtedly be called as the richest sources of vitamins. They help the body in gaining energy without contributing to the fat. You must get an idea about fruit nutrition fact to know more about the presence of essential vitamins like Vitamin C and B-complex in fruits. Fruits are an integral part of a fasting diet as they help in the removal of toxins and replenish the energy in the body. You can gain further information about healthy living by browsing through relevant websites. Family Dental Health Plans is a verified source for AmeriPlan discount dental and health plans information. User-friendly access and direct approach makes it stand out of the rest. AmeriPlan dental plans offer an affordable dental plan that is hassle free and is convenient to approach. With the help of this information, people have been able to understand the importance of discount dental plans as compared to insurance resources. Flexible and available for any age group, budget and health care needs, AmeriPlan Corporation has served most affordable and high quality dental care with a large network of participating dentists who have agreed to offer their services at discounted fees.
The website is a broad and well-searched foundation of knowledge that helps people to get more accurate information and opinions about the discount dental plans that meet their specific healthcare needs. AmeriPlan Corp. was started in 1992 with an idea that health care treatment fee should be budget friendly and the quality of treatment should not only reachable to those who can pay high amounts. With a successful work span of more than 20 years, the corporation has made it flexible for AmeriPlan members to choose from seven different personalized dental health plans options. Depending on the kind of expectations one has, AmeriPlan dental plans has served to many individuals and families requirements. At FamilyDentalHealthPlans.com, information about various plans with incorporated features, easy providers’ look up and a direct link to join AmeriPlan Corp. is a real help to those who are going to be AmeriPlan member for the first time.
For anyone looking for dental care savings, AmeriPlan dental health plans is a hassle free solution that helps individuals to make an informed decision.
No annual limits to any plan; members will have the discounts on most dental care services all year long.
No tiresome paperwork hassles.
No health restrictions – there is no need to wait for comprehensive dental treatment plans.
Consumers pay affordable membership fees
Available directly to individuals, families, businesses and groups.I suffer from poor eyesight and intense seasonal allergies, but I'm thankful that health issues occupy just a small portion of my life. Even though I'm rather healthy, I sometimes find myself needing access to accurate health information. I can get a long way by searching for health facts online, but I also need to incorporate what I find with my own history of conditions and treatments. I didn't even realize I had allergies until my early twenties -- for more years than I care to admit, I'd forget that the "cold" I came down with in April was suspiciously similar to the one I had at exactly the same time the year before. I've often been overwhelmed when trying to determine or track a condition, because my personal record of health information is either nonexistent, or it's spread on forms and receipts from (at least) a dozen doctors and five insurance companies.
Working as an engineer here on the health team, I've been excited to participate in building tools that will help me and others manage our personal health information more effectively. Many innovators in the healthcare industry have worked hard to make results of doctor visits, prescriptions, tests and procedures available digitally. By using the GData protocol already offered in many Google products, and supporting standards-based medical information formats like the Continuity of Care Record (CCR), our health efforts will help you access, store and communicate your health information. Above all, health data will remain yours -- private and confidential. Only you have control over when to share it with family members and health providers.
This week, we hit another important milestone. We launched a pilot with a medical institution committed to giving patients access to their own medical records: The Cleveland Clinic. A large academic medical center, Cleveland is one of the first partners to integrate on our platform. Because of their size and reach with patients who already have access to their medical records online, Cleveland has been a great partner for us to test out our data sharing model. Patients participating in the Cleveland pilot give authorization via our AuthSub interface to have their electronic medical records safely and securely imported into a Google account. It's great to see our product getting into the hands of end users, and I look forward to the feedback that the Cleveland patients will provide us.
Cleveland is just the first of many healthcare providers that will securely send medical records and information via Google APIs at your request. We've been hard at work collaborating with a number of insurance plans, medical groups, pharmacies and hospitals. While this pilot is open initially to just a few thousand patients, I see it as an important first step to show how Google can help users get access to their medical records and take charge of their health information.It was disappointing—infuriating actually—to learn that some of the nation’s health insurance companies are trying to take advantage of their current customers by manipulating plan years. They are doing so to avoid having to pass on to these customers the benefits of national health reform.
These insurers are reaching out to current customers, taking advantage of their uncertainties, and luring them to switch to health plan years that begin in 2013. By substituting 2013 plans for their current plans that run through early 2014, customers will lose important Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections that must apply to plans issued on or after January 1, 2014. For example, plans issued in 2014 must offer a comprehensive range of benefits and have rates based only on the customer’s age, geographic location, number in family, and tobacco usage. Discrimination based on gender or pre-existing conditions is banned by federal law in 2014 plans. Health insurance insider turned critic, Wendell Potter, recently wrote in detail about this outrage in the Huffington Post.
So insurers are trying to have the best of both worlds. They want all the goodies the ACA offers them, including hundreds of millions of new customers (many of whom will only be able to afford coverage because they qualify for the federal financial help in the form of advance premium tax credits and cost sharing subsidies available under the ACA), but they also want to deprive their existing customers of the benefit of ACA reforms.
Fortunately, insurance regulators can and are protecting customers from such manipulation. Illinois Department of Insurance Director Andrew Boron issued Bulletin 2013-07 on April 29, 2013, telling Illinois health insurers that they won’t get away with such manipulation. “The Department will not approve…filings for such arrangements,” the bulletin says. That should bring these threatened manipulations to an end in Illinois, and we hope regulators in other states take similar actions.
Health insurance has been baffling to most individuals and small businesses. The federal government, many states, and many non-profit organizations are working hard to inform citizens of the reforms, benefits, and opportunities the Affordable Care Act has already brought and the major improvements coming in 2014. Actions like these plan date manipulations simply have no place in the picture. Thank goodness regulators can and are stepping it to ensure a happy ending. Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that enacts a critical part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) by making Medicaid coverage available to all low-income adults in Illinois. Today’s action delivers on a major priority announced by Governor Quinn in his 2013 State of the State address and is part of his agenda to improve the health of the people of Illinois and increase access to quality health care.
“In the home state of President Obama, we believe access to quality health care is a fundamental right and we proudly embrace the Affordable Care Act,” Governor Quinn said. “This legislation will greatly improve the health of hundreds of thousands of people across Illinois, strengthen our health care system and create thousands of good jobs in the health care field. Thanks to this law and our shared commitment to increasing access to health care coverage in Illinois, the people of Illinois will be healthier and have a higher quality of life.”
Sponsored by State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Senate Bill 26 will make Medicaid coverage available to adults with annual income below 138 percent of the federal poverty line, which is $15,860 for individuals and $21,408 for couples. The measure is expected to enroll 342,000 people by 2017. Currently, Medicaid is only available to children, their parents or guardians, adults with disabilities or seniors. Enrollment for the newly eligible population will begin Oct. 1 with coverage starting on Jan. 1.
Under the ACA, for the first three years, coverage of newly eligible adults will be 100 percent federally funded. The reimbursement rate will phase down to 90 percent by 2020. State officials estimate this will bring more than $12 billion in new federal funding to support the state’s health care system from 2014 to 2020.
“The Affordable Care Act gives Illinois the resources to provide critical health care services to a population that desperately needs it,” Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos said. “Under Governor Quinn’s leadership, we are reforming our health care system so that it focuses on delivering coordinated care and keeping people healthy through better preventive care, not just paying the bills when they become sick.”
Under Governor Quinn's leadership, Illinois is also increasing access to health coverage through the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace, another major feature of the ACA. The Marketplace, which also launches enrollment Oct. 1 with coverage starting Jan. 1, will be accessed through a user-friendly website where individuals, families and small businesses will be able to compare health care policies and premiums and purchase comprehensive health coverage. Those with income between 138 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level will receive subsidies on a sliding scale if they obtain coverage through the marketplace.
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The celebration following the federal government's increase in the estate tax exemption to $5.25 million is, perhaps, destined to be short lived. President Obama’s proposed budget plan for 2014 came out on April 10, and proposes substantial changes to the estate and income tax code. These changes would mean real changes in estate planning.
According to the budget plan, the federal estate tax rate will increase from 40 to 45 percent. The individual exemption equivalent will be reduced from $5.25 million to $3.5 million, and it will not adjust upward over time to keep pace with inflation. This means that as time goes on and inflation increases, people will surpass the exemption mark due to appreciation in the value of their estate, and be subject to federal estate taxes. Further, these changes are proposed as "permanent changes" meaning that they will not sunset or lapse in time.
The lifetime gifting exemption equivalent is also affected, since the gift and estate taxes use a unified exemption. The maximum amount that a person can leave his or her family in combined taxable lifetime gifts and inheritance is thus reduced from $5.25 million, which increases with inflation, to a non-adjusting maximum of $3.5 million.
Limiting Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
More surprising and substantive changes are proposed for sophisticated estate plans. A GRAT (grantor retained annuity trust) is a tax-reducing trust popular for giving assets to family members while retaining an income benefit for some defined period of time. The grantor puts his or her assets into the trust and receives an annuity which pays a fixed amount each year. Gift tax is paid when the GRAT is created and the tax is based upon the present value of the remainder of the trust, meaning that the value of the gift, for gift tax purposes is substantially less than the actual fair market value of the assets. One of the real challenges in such planning is that if the grantor dies before the trust ends, the assets become part of the grantor's taxable estate,and the purpose for the trust, reducing estate taxes, is frustrated.. If the grantor survives the term of the trust, any assets left to the beneficiary — usually the grantor’s children — are tax free. GRATs have typically been short-term trusts to make it more likely that the grantor survives beyond the term of the trust.
The proposed budget will require a minimum trust term of ten (10) years for all GRATS. This defined longer term makes it more likely that the grantor may die during the trust’s existence, and increases the chances that the trust does nothing to reduce the value of the taxable estate. If death of the grantor occurs within the ten year term, the trust is taxed as part of estate, effectively losing nearly half its value to federal estate taxes. The proposed budget, therefore, limits greatly the attractiveness of GRATS as an estate planning option.
Eliminating Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
The proposed budget also effectively eliminates intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGT). An IDGT is used to freeze the value of appreciating assets for tax purposes. This strategy allows the grantor to be the owner of the assets for income tax purposes but it removes the value of the assets from the grantor’s taxable estate. As the value of the trust increases, the transferor receives the income earned by the assets (and pays tax on the income) but the assets grow outside of the transferor’s estate.
Under proposed budget:, there would be no separation in the tax codes for this trust. Estate or gift tax would have to be paid on the trust at the time of the owner’s death. This would make the IDGT obsolete.
Signalling a Change?
Perhaps the most significant change reflected in the proposed budget is that the federal government has, once again, returned to a lack of appreciation for the benefits of certainty and stability in estate and business planning. Among the reasons that many celebrated the recent changes to the estate tax code (recent being changes adopted at the last minute, less than six months ago), is that the inflation adjustment and portability provisions signaled, to some, an appreciation for long-term stability and certainty. It appeared to some that having resolved the estate tax exemption amount, and having adjusted it automatically for inflation over time, the federal government was, in effect, acknowledging the need for stability and certainty, eschewing uncertainty, and detrimental periodic and last minute legislative changes.
Of course, perhaps the proposed budget is really the "same as it ever was."
This article is based in large part on an article by Phoebe Venable, entitled "Obama's Budget Plan would Hit Estate Plans Hard," published May 11, 2013, in the Tennessean, and available Medicare officials have proposed changes in hospital admission rules in an effort to reduce the rising number of beneficiaries who are placed in "observation care" but not admitted to the hospital. When a patient is placed in observation care, but not formally admitted to the hospital, the patient is often rendered ineligible for nursing home coverage. Patients must spend three consecutive inpatient days in the hospital before Medicare will cover nursing home care ordered by a doctor.
Observation patients don't qualify, even if they have been in the hospital for three days because they are outpatients and have not been admitted. If the patient was in the hospital for three days, but under observation as an out-patient, and then is referred to a nursing home, the patient is solely responsible for the cost of care in the nursing home.
Adding insult to injury, these patients also often realize higher out-of-pocket costs than admitted patients while in the hospital, including higher copayments and charges for non-covered medications. Observation is generally cheaper than inpatient care for insurers and hospitals, but the opposite can hold true formany patients. Many patients have supplemental coverage that picks up the portion of her hospital bill Medicare does not pay, but observation patients without other coverage typically pay 20 percent of hospital outpatient services, which isn't required for inpatient care.
One might think that patients would object to the practice, but sadly, patients are usually wholly unaware that they are being treated as out-patients, since they are, after all, in a hospital. This lack of notice and knowledge renders the patient impotent to protect his or her own interests, and to control his or her costs. Hospitals are simply not required to tell patients they are under observation care. Most do not. A few web portals have come up with their unique healthy diet plans that are helpful in meeting the nutritional requirements of the body. The sites can provide healthy eating tips that can help you in controlling the sugar intake. The consumption of excessive sugar can become the main reason for diabetes type two, heart diseases and immune dysfunction. You can adopt healthy eating plans available on the sites for a better life. Fast Food Statistics gathered from across the globe have showcased that consumption of greasy burgers and fries can increase the weight and lead to obesity. Healthy eating guidelines stress that consumption of fast food on a regular basis is not good for the body. Consumption of Quarter Pounder with cheese can add around 510 calories to the body. Out of the above mentioned 510 calories, around 230 calories increase the fat in your body. This is sufficient to indicate that fast food does not help in achieving a healthy body.
Every day a number of cases of obesity are being reported around the world. In such a situation, people often wonder what could be the healthy foods to eat. If you too have been thinking about it for long and are truly perplexed then you must switch to organic foods without any delay. One can easily find certified organic foods that are not just healthier but tastier as well. Once you adopt the healthy diet plans you can start consuming farm fresh fruits and vegetables that do not have any toxic chemicals and observe a great change in your skin texture. The body will respond positively towards natural and pesticide-free food products.
Fruits are an important source of nutrition for the body and are an integral part of healthy diet plans. Fruits like bananas, berries, apples and tomatoes can undoubtedly be called as the richest sources of vitamins. They help the body in gaining energy without contributing to the fat. You must get an idea about fruit nutrition fact to know more about the presence of essential vitamins like Vitamin C and B-complex in fruits. Fruits are an integral part of a fasting diet as they help in the removal of toxins and replenish the energy in the body. You can gain further information about healthy living by browsing through relevant websites. Family Dental Health Plans is a verified source for AmeriPlan discount dental and health plans information. User-friendly access and direct approach makes it stand out of the rest. AmeriPlan dental plans offer an affordable dental plan that is hassle free and is convenient to approach. With the help of this information, people have been able to understand the importance of discount dental plans as compared to insurance resources. Flexible and available for any age group, budget and health care needs, AmeriPlan Corporation has served most affordable and high quality dental care with a large network of participating dentists who have agreed to offer their services at discounted fees.
The website is a broad and well-searched foundation of knowledge that helps people to get more accurate information and opinions about the discount dental plans that meet their specific healthcare needs. AmeriPlan Corp. was started in 1992 with an idea that health care treatment fee should be budget friendly and the quality of treatment should not only reachable to those who can pay high amounts. With a successful work span of more than 20 years, the corporation has made it flexible for AmeriPlan members to choose from seven different personalized dental health plans options. Depending on the kind of expectations one has, AmeriPlan dental plans has served to many individuals and families requirements. At FamilyDentalHealthPlans.com, information about various plans with incorporated features, easy providers’ look up and a direct link to join AmeriPlan Corp. is a real help to those who are going to be AmeriPlan member for the first time.
For anyone looking for dental care savings, AmeriPlan dental health plans is a hassle free solution that helps individuals to make an informed decision.
No annual limits to any plan; members will have the discounts on most dental care services all year long.
No tiresome paperwork hassles.
No health restrictions – there is no need to wait for comprehensive dental treatment plans.
Consumers pay affordable membership fees
Available directly to individuals, families, businesses and groups.I suffer from poor eyesight and intense seasonal allergies, but I'm thankful that health issues occupy just a small portion of my life. Even though I'm rather healthy, I sometimes find myself needing access to accurate health information. I can get a long way by searching for health facts online, but I also need to incorporate what I find with my own history of conditions and treatments. I didn't even realize I had allergies until my early twenties -- for more years than I care to admit, I'd forget that the "cold" I came down with in April was suspiciously similar to the one I had at exactly the same time the year before. I've often been overwhelmed when trying to determine or track a condition, because my personal record of health information is either nonexistent, or it's spread on forms and receipts from (at least) a dozen doctors and five insurance companies.
Working as an engineer here on the health team, I've been excited to participate in building tools that will help me and others manage our personal health information more effectively. Many innovators in the healthcare industry have worked hard to make results of doctor visits, prescriptions, tests and procedures available digitally. By using the GData protocol already offered in many Google products, and supporting standards-based medical information formats like the Continuity of Care Record (CCR), our health efforts will help you access, store and communicate your health information. Above all, health data will remain yours -- private and confidential. Only you have control over when to share it with family members and health providers.
This week, we hit another important milestone. We launched a pilot with a medical institution committed to giving patients access to their own medical records: The Cleveland Clinic. A large academic medical center, Cleveland is one of the first partners to integrate on our platform. Because of their size and reach with patients who already have access to their medical records online, Cleveland has been a great partner for us to test out our data sharing model. Patients participating in the Cleveland pilot give authorization via our AuthSub interface to have their electronic medical records safely and securely imported into a Google account. It's great to see our product getting into the hands of end users, and I look forward to the feedback that the Cleveland patients will provide us.
Cleveland is just the first of many healthcare providers that will securely send medical records and information via Google APIs at your request. We've been hard at work collaborating with a number of insurance plans, medical groups, pharmacies and hospitals. While this pilot is open initially to just a few thousand patients, I see it as an important first step to show how Google can help users get access to their medical records and take charge of their health information.It was disappointing—infuriating actually—to learn that some of the nation’s health insurance companies are trying to take advantage of their current customers by manipulating plan years. They are doing so to avoid having to pass on to these customers the benefits of national health reform.
These insurers are reaching out to current customers, taking advantage of their uncertainties, and luring them to switch to health plan years that begin in 2013. By substituting 2013 plans for their current plans that run through early 2014, customers will lose important Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections that must apply to plans issued on or after January 1, 2014. For example, plans issued in 2014 must offer a comprehensive range of benefits and have rates based only on the customer’s age, geographic location, number in family, and tobacco usage. Discrimination based on gender or pre-existing conditions is banned by federal law in 2014 plans. Health insurance insider turned critic, Wendell Potter, recently wrote in detail about this outrage in the Huffington Post.
So insurers are trying to have the best of both worlds. They want all the goodies the ACA offers them, including hundreds of millions of new customers (many of whom will only be able to afford coverage because they qualify for the federal financial help in the form of advance premium tax credits and cost sharing subsidies available under the ACA), but they also want to deprive their existing customers of the benefit of ACA reforms.
Fortunately, insurance regulators can and are protecting customers from such manipulation. Illinois Department of Insurance Director Andrew Boron issued Bulletin 2013-07 on April 29, 2013, telling Illinois health insurers that they won’t get away with such manipulation. “The Department will not approve…filings for such arrangements,” the bulletin says. That should bring these threatened manipulations to an end in Illinois, and we hope regulators in other states take similar actions.
Health insurance has been baffling to most individuals and small businesses. The federal government, many states, and many non-profit organizations are working hard to inform citizens of the reforms, benefits, and opportunities the Affordable Care Act has already brought and the major improvements coming in 2014. Actions like these plan date manipulations simply have no place in the picture. Thank goodness regulators can and are stepping it to ensure a happy ending. Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that enacts a critical part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) by making Medicaid coverage available to all low-income adults in Illinois. Today’s action delivers on a major priority announced by Governor Quinn in his 2013 State of the State address and is part of his agenda to improve the health of the people of Illinois and increase access to quality health care.
“In the home state of President Obama, we believe access to quality health care is a fundamental right and we proudly embrace the Affordable Care Act,” Governor Quinn said. “This legislation will greatly improve the health of hundreds of thousands of people across Illinois, strengthen our health care system and create thousands of good jobs in the health care field. Thanks to this law and our shared commitment to increasing access to health care coverage in Illinois, the people of Illinois will be healthier and have a higher quality of life.”
Sponsored by State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Senate Bill 26 will make Medicaid coverage available to adults with annual income below 138 percent of the federal poverty line, which is $15,860 for individuals and $21,408 for couples. The measure is expected to enroll 342,000 people by 2017. Currently, Medicaid is only available to children, their parents or guardians, adults with disabilities or seniors. Enrollment for the newly eligible population will begin Oct. 1 with coverage starting on Jan. 1.
Under the ACA, for the first three years, coverage of newly eligible adults will be 100 percent federally funded. The reimbursement rate will phase down to 90 percent by 2020. State officials estimate this will bring more than $12 billion in new federal funding to support the state’s health care system from 2014 to 2020.
“The Affordable Care Act gives Illinois the resources to provide critical health care services to a population that desperately needs it,” Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos said. “Under Governor Quinn’s leadership, we are reforming our health care system so that it focuses on delivering coordinated care and keeping people healthy through better preventive care, not just paying the bills when they become sick.”
Under Governor Quinn's leadership, Illinois is also increasing access to health coverage through the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace, another major feature of the ACA. The Marketplace, which also launches enrollment Oct. 1 with coverage starting Jan. 1, will be accessed through a user-friendly website where individuals, families and small businesses will be able to compare health care policies and premiums and purchase comprehensive health coverage. Those with income between 138 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level will receive subsidies on a sliding scale if they obtain coverage through the marketplace.
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