For the past few years we have started to tell our small groups to stop offering health insurance to their employees, especially when you have employees that would be better off getting their insurance through the exchange and getting better rates than what the employer can give them. This worked great here in Nevada! Now comes 2017....
Health insurance companies are finally getting data back about the individual marketplace and it isn't pretty. I like to think of health insurance risk pools as swimming pools. When someone is a heavy user of benefits they dirty that pool. The individual marketplace is the filthiest pool you can get into. Who wants to swim in the dirtiest pool? That's why so many carriers have exited the marketplace and the carriers have told brokers they won't pay them a dime or at least significantly less if they enroll someone on one of those plans. They also raised the rates on those plans to show individuals how bad it really is.
If you still qualify for a subsidy, you are still probably better off through the exchange for cost, because the government is still footing their portion of the bill. The problem you will have is access to doctors. In Nevada we have Anthem pulling their PPO and Prominence pulling their WellHealth network. So fewer doctors to choose from, but the subsidies can help as the plans un-subsidized are seeing some healthy increase.
If you don't qualify for a subsidy, have at least 1 w2 employee other than yourself, or just want want some great options, please consider looking at group health insurance again. You get more options with national networks and the rates are quite a bit lower than the individual plans. Shock! As this wasn't the case the past couple years. Employers can also set up benefits to be deducted pre-tax saving even more money and also have the baility to wow their new employees by offering a great benefits package. Win win win.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Friday, September 2, 2016
Is your financial advisor really an advisor or insurance salesman?
Have you ever tried investing on your own? What do you think about when you invest?
I know I think about buying stocks. A little piece of a company. I remember in high school picking a few companies to follow on Yahoo finance and see how well our picks did at the end of a certain period. If we made money we were happy. The trick was picking the right stocks. In the real world you have to actually have money to buy these stocks. When you put in that order there are all sorts of fees to pay as well in order to get it transferred to your name. This can be overwhelming. If you are dealing with your own precious money as well you don't want to pick the wrong stock. So you hire a "professional."
I think everyone and their mom is a financial professional. I see more job openings on Linkedin and job boards for financial services than any other industry. On the show Last Week Tonight they made fun of the fact that everyone can claim to be a financial advisor as there is no actual law or licensing to be considered as such. If you find yourself in front of a person who considers them an advisor there is no real way of figuring out what credentials they hold and what they are really trying to get you to buy. I like the funny video that the CFP Board puts out to show this.
When you pull back the wool though you find they are all just some kind of insurance salesman. No one likes losing money, but they all love making it. So the way advisors make money is by selling you an insurance policy to ensure you never lose, or if you do, it should hopefully be by very little. Who doesn't like that? That is why annuity sales (insurance for investments) are incredibly high. $440 million in 2012 according to LIMRA http://www.limra.com/uploadedFiles/limracom/Posts/PR/Data_Bank/_PDF/AnnuityCompanyRankings-Q4-2012.pdf
Insurance isn't a bad thing, just has a high cost. Remember the way insurance works is you pay for everyone to share in the potential losses so instead of you getting really large gains and possibly really large losses you are paying someone out of your large gains to insure you won't get large losses. You are going to miss out on all of the fun and pay an insurance salesman some great commissions. Why else do companies recruit agents so much? They give great returns! They also bank on the fact that agent won't last long anyway and any business he/she writes is all commissions they never have to pay out.
So long story short, your financial advisor is really just an insurance salesman. Just make sure you pick one that understands what they are doing and discloses to you the compensation in recommending a product. It doesn't make them evil. Sometimes they can be ignorant and sometimes they can be self promoting (greedy) but just make sure you keep a guard and take control of what you want.
I know I think about buying stocks. A little piece of a company. I remember in high school picking a few companies to follow on Yahoo finance and see how well our picks did at the end of a certain period. If we made money we were happy. The trick was picking the right stocks. In the real world you have to actually have money to buy these stocks. When you put in that order there are all sorts of fees to pay as well in order to get it transferred to your name. This can be overwhelming. If you are dealing with your own precious money as well you don't want to pick the wrong stock. So you hire a "professional."
I think everyone and their mom is a financial professional. I see more job openings on Linkedin and job boards for financial services than any other industry. On the show Last Week Tonight they made fun of the fact that everyone can claim to be a financial advisor as there is no actual law or licensing to be considered as such. If you find yourself in front of a person who considers them an advisor there is no real way of figuring out what credentials they hold and what they are really trying to get you to buy. I like the funny video that the CFP Board puts out to show this.
When you pull back the wool though you find they are all just some kind of insurance salesman. No one likes losing money, but they all love making it. So the way advisors make money is by selling you an insurance policy to ensure you never lose, or if you do, it should hopefully be by very little. Who doesn't like that? That is why annuity sales (insurance for investments) are incredibly high. $440 million in 2012 according to LIMRA http://www.limra.com/uploadedFiles/limracom/Posts/PR/Data_Bank/_PDF/AnnuityCompanyRankings-Q4-2012.pdf
Insurance isn't a bad thing, just has a high cost. Remember the way insurance works is you pay for everyone to share in the potential losses so instead of you getting really large gains and possibly really large losses you are paying someone out of your large gains to insure you won't get large losses. You are going to miss out on all of the fun and pay an insurance salesman some great commissions. Why else do companies recruit agents so much? They give great returns! They also bank on the fact that agent won't last long anyway and any business he/she writes is all commissions they never have to pay out.
So long story short, your financial advisor is really just an insurance salesman. Just make sure you pick one that understands what they are doing and discloses to you the compensation in recommending a product. It doesn't make them evil. Sometimes they can be ignorant and sometimes they can be self promoting (greedy) but just make sure you keep a guard and take control of what you want.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Thanks for the idea Manoush
Are employers re thinking how and why they have employees? I meet regularly with employers who contemplate offering health insurance to their employees. I wonder sometimes about how a lot of them view those employees. Some pay their workers minimum wages and the thought of having to pay an extra $150-$350 a month in insurance scares them while others see it as a cost of doing business. So what is the true value of employees? Are they a cost? A burden? or an asset?
When you run a business, customers and clients are always in need. You can't just shut your doors one day and expect them to be happy with you. I know I absolutely hate it when the product or service I need is out of my reach because someone is no there. The problem is we are human and we can't always be there. We have more to life than being the robot producer. We have families, emotions, needs to refuel and to rest.
So how do we look at employees a an asset that can be something more than just an able body to complete a task and allow them to still be human? How can we have confidence they will be there and allow them the opportunity to expand their reach and leadership when they have a life to live?
I was listening to the podcast Note to Self and this week they concluded their 4 part series on following working mothers trying to make a difference in the lives of working mothers.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/work-life-balance-need-done-partnership/
They mentioned something that made me think. How can a company provide flexibility to employees to take the needed time to be flexible and still meet its own demands? Are there things a company can do to develop safety nets for its employees so they can have the flexibility to be human? Gender roles are on their way out with regards to work and the constraints of having a family are ever increasing, especially with over 50% of our population single and single parents having to raise the next generation.
Some of my suggestions are below.
First, set up a bank of time for personal time off. Allow employees to take a moment to breathe without worry of losing pay. You still have to keep your lights on and still need people there to help out clients, so a systemized program that allows flexibility is key.
Second, invest in short term disability for your employees. It's not that expensive of insurance and it saves you money on taxes. If your employees get sick, hurt, or even have a baby (for girls only), then they will still receive a paycheck for a few weeks to a few months if need be without costing you any additional money above what you pay in premiums.
Third, have a backup plan and spread out roles in the company when someone is gone. Most companies can probably run on a lot fewer employees than what they have, but the more you have the easier the work can be. When someone is out for an extended time it shouldn't be a burden to the company that causes panic. Understand that even though we can do just as much with less doesn't mean you don't need the help. Think of moving big heavy boxes. If you are strong enough, you can probably move boxes all on your own. You might be able to do it for a short period of time, but eventually it wears on you and you get tired. If someone comes and lends a hand, it gets much easier and you start to accomplish a lot more.
Fourth, don't stress about the small costs. If you struggle to pay people what they are worth, then maybe you are not helping anyone out and hurting both your business and that employee. Change your mindset and hopefully increase your value to your clients so you can truly give people their worth.
When you run a business, customers and clients are always in need. You can't just shut your doors one day and expect them to be happy with you. I know I absolutely hate it when the product or service I need is out of my reach because someone is no there. The problem is we are human and we can't always be there. We have more to life than being the robot producer. We have families, emotions, needs to refuel and to rest.
So how do we look at employees a an asset that can be something more than just an able body to complete a task and allow them to still be human? How can we have confidence they will be there and allow them the opportunity to expand their reach and leadership when they have a life to live?
I was listening to the podcast Note to Self and this week they concluded their 4 part series on following working mothers trying to make a difference in the lives of working mothers.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/work-life-balance-need-done-partnership/
They mentioned something that made me think. How can a company provide flexibility to employees to take the needed time to be flexible and still meet its own demands? Are there things a company can do to develop safety nets for its employees so they can have the flexibility to be human? Gender roles are on their way out with regards to work and the constraints of having a family are ever increasing, especially with over 50% of our population single and single parents having to raise the next generation.
Some of my suggestions are below.
First, set up a bank of time for personal time off. Allow employees to take a moment to breathe without worry of losing pay. You still have to keep your lights on and still need people there to help out clients, so a systemized program that allows flexibility is key.
Second, invest in short term disability for your employees. It's not that expensive of insurance and it saves you money on taxes. If your employees get sick, hurt, or even have a baby (for girls only), then they will still receive a paycheck for a few weeks to a few months if need be without costing you any additional money above what you pay in premiums.
Third, have a backup plan and spread out roles in the company when someone is gone. Most companies can probably run on a lot fewer employees than what they have, but the more you have the easier the work can be. When someone is out for an extended time it shouldn't be a burden to the company that causes panic. Understand that even though we can do just as much with less doesn't mean you don't need the help. Think of moving big heavy boxes. If you are strong enough, you can probably move boxes all on your own. You might be able to do it for a short period of time, but eventually it wears on you and you get tired. If someone comes and lends a hand, it gets much easier and you start to accomplish a lot more.
Fourth, don't stress about the small costs. If you struggle to pay people what they are worth, then maybe you are not helping anyone out and hurting both your business and that employee. Change your mindset and hopefully increase your value to your clients so you can truly give people their worth.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
renewal season
The next few weeks we will be getting the long anticipated 4th quarter small group rates. Great news for most employers is there are decreases this year in rates!
It amazes me that insurance carriers are so willing to decrease small group rates yet drastically increase individual health rates. The small group rates were designed to be no different than individual plans, except the employers owned the policies and could add/remove employees according to hire dates and terminations.
This is just a good sign that those who purchase individual health insurance are typically the sickest part of our population.
Makes me wonder what this data will do and how the government and health insurers will react. Or will everyone just ignore it?
It amazes me that insurance carriers are so willing to decrease small group rates yet drastically increase individual health rates. The small group rates were designed to be no different than individual plans, except the employers owned the policies and could add/remove employees according to hire dates and terminations.
This is just a good sign that those who purchase individual health insurance are typically the sickest part of our population.
Makes me wonder what this data will do and how the government and health insurers will react. Or will everyone just ignore it?
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Year of the small group in Nevada
Why would a small group want to offer health insurance to its employees anyways? There is no mandate to offer coverage and employees can go to the marketplace and get subsidies.
Well, not every employee can get subsidies, especially if you pay them a decent wage. A lot of small businesses have owners who are already paying the full price of their insurance and many of their employees are doing the same. The problem is the business cannot write off any individual insurance policy premiums and they are subject to employees getting their own benefits that are tied to the individual enrollment periods.
The other important news is that individual health insurance rates are going to be seeing as much as 30% rate increases! Those employers who currently have a Gold or Platinum plan on their own are going to be getting a big shocker when they see their renewal in a few months and wonder what happened to their awesome Cadillac plan.
Good news is small group plans are not changing. rates are actually going down and the Gold and Platinum plans are widely available. To top it off groups get even more choices when it comes to plan choice.
If you have a small business with at least 2 employees, it might be a good time to start looking at group health benefits again. If not for your employees, but for yourself.
Well, not every employee can get subsidies, especially if you pay them a decent wage. A lot of small businesses have owners who are already paying the full price of their insurance and many of their employees are doing the same. The problem is the business cannot write off any individual insurance policy premiums and they are subject to employees getting their own benefits that are tied to the individual enrollment periods.
The other important news is that individual health insurance rates are going to be seeing as much as 30% rate increases! Those employers who currently have a Gold or Platinum plan on their own are going to be getting a big shocker when they see their renewal in a few months and wonder what happened to their awesome Cadillac plan.
Good news is small group plans are not changing. rates are actually going down and the Gold and Platinum plans are widely available. To top it off groups get even more choices when it comes to plan choice.
If you have a small business with at least 2 employees, it might be a good time to start looking at group health benefits again. If not for your employees, but for yourself.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Reality Vs Perception
Have you ever though to yourself, "That person has it all, money, power, sex" or anything like that? You wonder how they got to be so successful. Some these people tell you how you too can be successful just like them. Notice though how they are also charging you money to learn how to be successful just like them? That's because they are really no different than you are.
We are all human and we tend to make similar choices. The difference each of us has is opportunities. None of us are bon with the same parents or situations and we each have different friends and crowds we hang out with. This in turn generates different opportunities throughout our lifetime. Even the successful had to start out somewhere. They weren't an instant success. You will also be amazed to find out that the reason they are charging you money is because in order to perpetuate their success they need your money to stay successful in order to preach to people how to become successful.
I have found that people who make modest lives and in their own right are successful are more than happy to share with others at no cost. They give freely of their time and resources. This doesn't always mean they give everything away, but they are willing to enrich not only their lives, but others' lives as well.
Maybe I am just a dreamer, but I think a world where we give more are we the most successful and happy. The more we give the more we also receive form others.
We are all human and we tend to make similar choices. The difference each of us has is opportunities. None of us are bon with the same parents or situations and we each have different friends and crowds we hang out with. This in turn generates different opportunities throughout our lifetime. Even the successful had to start out somewhere. They weren't an instant success. You will also be amazed to find out that the reason they are charging you money is because in order to perpetuate their success they need your money to stay successful in order to preach to people how to become successful.
I have found that people who make modest lives and in their own right are successful are more than happy to share with others at no cost. They give freely of their time and resources. This doesn't always mean they give everything away, but they are willing to enrich not only their lives, but others' lives as well.
Maybe I am just a dreamer, but I think a world where we give more are we the most successful and happy. The more we give the more we also receive form others.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Love Healthcare reform
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Flying solo on benefits
My head is in the clouds today and it made me think about my first solo flight in an airplane. I think this has a great analogy of how most of my clients feel when they leave their employer with all of the great benefits or they leave their home country and they are now responsible to take care of their own benefits.
When learning how to fly you spend a good portion of your time in ground school learning the basic maneuvers and rules you need to follow and then you get a few hours in the air with your instructor showing you the ropes. Once the instructor feels you have mastered the basic skills, he lets you go up and take the controls by yourself. It can be extremely scary with just a few hours of experience. The amazing thing about the experience is how much you remember the teachings from your instructor as well as the radio to signal to other traffic. It all ties together and you make it safely.
Unlike flying an airplane, people aren't really taught much with regards to what to do with their own benefits. All most people know is they need health insurance. The government tells everyone to go to a website, but the instructions are shotty at best and the overwhelming amount of choices can leave one's head spinning. That's where your benefits broker comes in to be a help as you get off the ground running. They have been there before and know how to instruct you and get you the right plan. They won't be the ones using the insurance, but they are there to help coach you on how to use it, even well after the sale.
Did you even ask about other benefits? One of the most common forgotten items is retirement. I honestly don't think most people want to work until the day they die and I am sure they don't want to solely be living off of social security. The way around this is to start saving early. every little bit counts. There are hundreds if not thousands of books out there about becoming rich by just saving $25-$100 a month. Have a 401k form an old company? Roll it over to a program that you can continue participating in (watch out for fees though.) Have a financial advisor you work with? Great! Make sure your benefits person knows this, because retirement plans do affect some of the health ins benefits with regards to financial assistance and make sure your advisor and benefits broker are truly working in your best interest and not just trying to sell you the hottest new product. They will typically ask more questions of you and actually get to know your situation.
besides retirement, you can also extend all of this to even more benefits. Imagine a world o possibilities. Disability insurance (for when you crash the plane and can't work), life insurance (for when you crash the plan and don't come back, your family needs the financial support), vision and dental insurance.
So the point of my whole blog is to get you connected with your benefits flight instructor (ahem, *me*) and get prepared to soar to new heights in your business.
Nevada benefits 9505 Hillwood Dr Ste #100 Las Vegas, NV 89134 (702)258-1995
When learning how to fly you spend a good portion of your time in ground school learning the basic maneuvers and rules you need to follow and then you get a few hours in the air with your instructor showing you the ropes. Once the instructor feels you have mastered the basic skills, he lets you go up and take the controls by yourself. It can be extremely scary with just a few hours of experience. The amazing thing about the experience is how much you remember the teachings from your instructor as well as the radio to signal to other traffic. It all ties together and you make it safely.
Unlike flying an airplane, people aren't really taught much with regards to what to do with their own benefits. All most people know is they need health insurance. The government tells everyone to go to a website, but the instructions are shotty at best and the overwhelming amount of choices can leave one's head spinning. That's where your benefits broker comes in to be a help as you get off the ground running. They have been there before and know how to instruct you and get you the right plan. They won't be the ones using the insurance, but they are there to help coach you on how to use it, even well after the sale.
Did you even ask about other benefits? One of the most common forgotten items is retirement. I honestly don't think most people want to work until the day they die and I am sure they don't want to solely be living off of social security. The way around this is to start saving early. every little bit counts. There are hundreds if not thousands of books out there about becoming rich by just saving $25-$100 a month. Have a 401k form an old company? Roll it over to a program that you can continue participating in (watch out for fees though.) Have a financial advisor you work with? Great! Make sure your benefits person knows this, because retirement plans do affect some of the health ins benefits with regards to financial assistance and make sure your advisor and benefits broker are truly working in your best interest and not just trying to sell you the hottest new product. They will typically ask more questions of you and actually get to know your situation.
besides retirement, you can also extend all of this to even more benefits. Imagine a world o possibilities. Disability insurance (for when you crash the plane and can't work), life insurance (for when you crash the plan and don't come back, your family needs the financial support), vision and dental insurance.
So the point of my whole blog is to get you connected with your benefits flight instructor (ahem, *me*) and get prepared to soar to new heights in your business.
Nevada benefits 9505 Hillwood Dr Ste #100 Las Vegas, NV 89134 (702)258-1995
Monday, April 18, 2016
Fiduciary schmiduciary rule
I think every newsletter or article I get about the financial industry is all about the new Fiduciary rule that advisors will be affected by. Frankly, it is just another way for the government to impose new tactics in protecting long time agents and agencies make even more money and be protected from competition. They want agents to be more liable for the advice they give and make sure they aren't just selling unnecessary investments. The concept is great! Who doesn't want to be sold a crappy investment and if they are sold one they want to make sure the seller is held to the right standard. This just makes advisors charge higher fees in order to offset their insurance costs and pushes more advisors out of the market.
The past few years have seen an increase in Robo-advisors who use technology to help people invest their money. These advisors operate on extremely low fees and allow consumers some much needed flexibility. Under the new rule, these advisors might be put into question and their low fees might be a thing of the past.
A good advisor shouldn't have to worry about these changes. If they truly do act in the best interest of their clients, are competent, and do a good job, they will continue to offer value to their clients and be able to make money. The trouble most advisors have though is getting clients. With more and more competition to the low cost alternatives, it just makes it even more difficult to gain that clientèle and be that long term advisor that people are willing to pay the higher fees to.
The past few years have seen an increase in Robo-advisors who use technology to help people invest their money. These advisors operate on extremely low fees and allow consumers some much needed flexibility. Under the new rule, these advisors might be put into question and their low fees might be a thing of the past.
A good advisor shouldn't have to worry about these changes. If they truly do act in the best interest of their clients, are competent, and do a good job, they will continue to offer value to their clients and be able to make money. The trouble most advisors have though is getting clients. With more and more competition to the low cost alternatives, it just makes it even more difficult to gain that clientèle and be that long term advisor that people are willing to pay the higher fees to.
Friday, April 1, 2016
American Dream U and Nevada benefits
Nevada Benefits, partnered with American Dream U, has
reopened a state of the art, 24 hour access, fully equipped workspaces,
whiteboard walled conference room, fully furnished offices, business lounges
and video communications center!! It's been designed not to be
"nickle and dimmed" along the way!!
Can't bet the location in Summerlin right off the Summerlin
Parkway and Town Center Drive (1 block from 24 hour fitness and Starbucks!).
Contact Phil Randazzo for more information at phil@nevadabenefits.com or call
702.258.1995
Friday, March 25, 2016
The irrational fear of deductibles and large numbers
Does a $5,000 deductible make you freak out and make you wonder "why the heck am I paying a monthly insurance premium when I have to pay the first $5k of my medical bills?!" Well, you're not the only one. The trouble we have though is asking ourselves, is this assumption really rational?
I think it all boils down to the fact that we like it when other people pay for things. It is much easier to pay an insurance company $100/mo more just to save ourselves $50 on a doctor visit, because when we went to see the doctor we didn't get a bill. We do this all of the time with all sorts of products. Vehicles, Television programming, insurance, furniture, etc. We finance those purchases and break them into monthly costs because we get what we want now and then just pay a little bit later on. Had we been a little more savvy we would have saved our money up, paid cash for the purchase and saved ourselves the extra interest payments and negotiated a better deal.
In order to get over our irrational fears we need to take a step back and think about what insurance really is. It is a safety net meant to help protect us from large financial losses. Insurance companies don't want you to be in a better position after you have submitted claims to them, they just want to make sure you aren't in the worse position. If we were all better off submitting insurance claims we would be looking for ways to profit from them constantly. (some people try, but then they go to jail)
If insurance is there to protect us against large losses, then it makes sense to have a deductible and your monthly payment you pay will determine how much of a deductible you will have. If you can't afford paying $5,000 in medical expenses, maybe consider paying more for your insurance. The trouble is that if you can't afford the higher insurance premiums, then having a higher deductible isn't a bad idea. How often will you meet that deductible? Do you incur medical expenses every year? If so, how much do you really incur? A regular doctor visit might cost you $100. A prescription drug maybe $20 for most people. Insuring yourself against those smaller expenses might not make sense as you pay an additional $100/mo for a policy that gives you a $50 copay to see a doctor as opposed to you paying the entire $100 for that same visit.
I think it all boils down to the fact that we like it when other people pay for things. It is much easier to pay an insurance company $100/mo more just to save ourselves $50 on a doctor visit, because when we went to see the doctor we didn't get a bill. We do this all of the time with all sorts of products. Vehicles, Television programming, insurance, furniture, etc. We finance those purchases and break them into monthly costs because we get what we want now and then just pay a little bit later on. Had we been a little more savvy we would have saved our money up, paid cash for the purchase and saved ourselves the extra interest payments and negotiated a better deal.
In order to get over our irrational fears we need to take a step back and think about what insurance really is. It is a safety net meant to help protect us from large financial losses. Insurance companies don't want you to be in a better position after you have submitted claims to them, they just want to make sure you aren't in the worse position. If we were all better off submitting insurance claims we would be looking for ways to profit from them constantly. (some people try, but then they go to jail)
If insurance is there to protect us against large losses, then it makes sense to have a deductible and your monthly payment you pay will determine how much of a deductible you will have. If you can't afford paying $5,000 in medical expenses, maybe consider paying more for your insurance. The trouble is that if you can't afford the higher insurance premiums, then having a higher deductible isn't a bad idea. How often will you meet that deductible? Do you incur medical expenses every year? If so, how much do you really incur? A regular doctor visit might cost you $100. A prescription drug maybe $20 for most people. Insuring yourself against those smaller expenses might not make sense as you pay an additional $100/mo for a policy that gives you a $50 copay to see a doctor as opposed to you paying the entire $100 for that same visit.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
The Dummies' Guide to Health Insurance Tax Penalties
- Individuals:
- 2015: $325.00
or 2% of income, whichever is greater
- 2016: $695.00
or 2.5% of income, whichever is greater
- Children 18 and under, the minimum
per-person tax is half of that for adults ($162.50).
- The tax penalty is pro-rated, so that a
person who is not covered for only a single month would pay 1/12th of the tax
that would be due for the full year.
- Families:
- 2015: $975
per family or 2% of family income, whichever is greater
- 2016: $2,085
per family or 2.5% of family income, whichever is greater
- The minimum amount per family is
capped at triple the per-person tax, no matter how many individuals are in the
taxpayer’s household.
- Tax Forms:
- Those who bought insurance on the
health insurance exchanges with the help of federal subsidies will receive
a form 1095-A detailed their coverage and have to reconcile their payments with
their income level. HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange that serves
37 states, started to mail out 1095-A forms
to customers said all forms should be mailed out by the end of January. This end of
month deadline is also the same for state-run exchanges
- Taxpayers who get their health
insurance through their employer or government sponsored programs like Medicare
or Medicaid, which will be the majority, will be able to prove their compliance
via their tax filing by check a box on their normal tax (1040 series) return
validating they had insurance.
- If you have exemptions to claim, you
will need to complete the tax form 8965.
More information on exemptions: http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-exemptions-list/
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Emergent vs. Urgent - Planning Ahead for the Minor Stuff
If your health plan is like most, it offers a persuasive disincentive to visit the emergency room when an urgent care center will do. This disincentive often takes the form of a higher
co-payment for emergency care. (The
co-payment is your share of the cost.) Moreover, if you go to an emergency room for an ailment that seems questionable as an “emergency”, the insurance company may deny the claim, leaving you on the hook for the entire bill.
co-payment for emergency care. (The
co-payment is your share of the cost.) Moreover, if you go to an emergency room for an ailment that seems questionable as an “emergency”, the insurance company may deny the claim, leaving you on the hook for the entire bill.
PPACA (i.e., “Obamacare”) defines a medical emergency as symptoms which would cause a reasonable layperson to fear that an absence of immediate care could mean a loss of life, limb, or organ; or the loss of function in a limb or organ.
Generally speaking, emergency rooms are connected to hospitals. They are heavily staffed, expensively equipped, and never closed. Patients typically wait for hours to see a doctor. Emergency rooms treat major traumas, broken bones, heart attacks, uncontrollable bleeding, unconsciousness, and the like.
Urgent care centers, by contrast, are free-standing facilities, lightly staffed, less equipped, and open later than normal business hours (but not open all night). Patients typically wait a matter of minutes, not hours, to be see a physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner. Urgent care centers treat flu symptoms, fevers, chills, sprains, headaches, and the like.
One of the most common reasons policyholders go to the emergency room for symptoms that do not meet the PPACA criteria above is a lack of planning. Nevada Benefits recommends that you take a moment now, while you are well, to locate the urgent care centers nearest your home and place of employment; then make a note for future reference. Waiting until you are sick or injured before mapping your way to the nearest urgent care center will prove more difficult than doing so in advance of your actual need.
Of course, if you experience a medical emergency, then you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Otherwise, an urgent care center, if appropriate to the ailment, can save you money, time, and aggravation.
Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about the emergent and urgent care benefits under your plan. Thursday, August 20, 2015
Telehealth- what is it?
Virtual House Call
Telehealth is a word coined to describe a doctor-patient encounter mediated entirely by technology. In its simplest form, telehealth is your primary care doctor hearing your complaint, forming a diagnosis, and recommending an over-the-counter remedy, all in the course of a single phone call. You receive care without darkening your doctor’s door.
In its more evolved form, telehealth is a video link-up through a corporate vendor specializing in just such electronic encounters. Or instead of taking a half-day off work to drive across town and haunt your doctor’s waiting room, you simply use your smartphone to transmit to her office a photo of that mysterious rash.
With carriers like Anthem, Cigna, and UnitedHealth Group expanding their telehealth networks, and pharmacies like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens investing in telehealth platforms, it’s safe to say that multimedia medicine is more than a trend; it’s an important solution to the problem of healthcare scarcity.
Dallas-based Teladoc is at the forefront of this technological movement. Teladoc’s physicians are available for consultation 24/7. Place a call to Teledoc and an experienced, state-licensed, board-certified physician will get back to you in minutes (16 minutes on average). This service is ideal for cold and flu symptoms, allergies, respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, ear infections, sinus disorders, and the like. Teledoc physicians can prescribe certain short-term prescriptions, such as antibiotics.
(Remember, however, that in the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, you should always call 911. Telehealth is not for emergency treatment. Nor is it for chronic ailments or specialty care; although Teladoc can provide guidance as to whether you require a specialist.)
Perhaps best of all, expenses incurred through Teladoc qualify for reimbursement under your FSA, HSA, and HRA.
The expansion of consumer access to limited healthcare resources is among the great economic and social challenges of our time. Nevada Benefits supports and encourages the spirit of innovation embodied in the telehealth approach.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Professionals are worse as predictions than the crowd
NPR put out a great podcast that describes a small sampling o how the crowd generally is good at averaging the right guess of what things really are. http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/08/07/430372183/episode-644-how-much-does-this-cow-weigh
This goes well with timing of the overall market. It is becoming widely accepted that most fund managers under perform the market almost 95%+ of the time. We all just assume this is the case because they have to charge fees for their services on top of matching the market, but it seems it might be a little more than that. So why do we need fund managers or professionals?
We can always just invest ourselves and try to take a jab at it. We would maybe fall short or maybe we will get lucky and pull ahead. We can also try and become experts, but then if we do we will probably be doomed to under perform just like other experts. I have quite a few clients who do their own investing and actually live off of their income from trading. I kind of put these clients in the same realm of my professional gambler clients. I notice their actual incomes to be quite dismal in the grand scheme of losses and gains, but they sure have some really big roller coaster rides along the way. Living in a gambling town we always hear about the extraordinary big wins, but we never hear about how much was lost to make that money.
Working in insurance I see some these same big mistakes made. People look at insurance as a way to win the jackpot in having someone else pay for your losses. The way insurance is sold is through telling you about one incident where someone had a huge tragic loss and then the insurance came and saved the day. What they didn't tell you was about how much that family spent and the many other families that never used that coverage.
Life never works out the way we plan. We learn good principles and adhere to making good decisions and we create good outcomes. When insuring yourself against anything, take a look at what resources you have and think about what your real risks are. If you are making random decisions in your investments, maybe it would be a good idea to use an advisor who can minimize the downsides. If you are young and have a family, maybe get some term life insurance to protect them if you were to die prematurely. If you have a job that relies heavily on your good health, consider a good disability policy. If you are concerned about staying in good health, make sure and get a good health insurance policy, but don't be afraid of deductibles.
To sum up my question of why do we need fund managers and professionals, it is because we sometimes need some perspective on what we are missing. Maybe we have too much insurance or maybe we are under performing the market and just making less ideal choices. It is always helpful to take a look at what the crowd is doing on average and make sure we are't missing the boat.
This goes well with timing of the overall market. It is becoming widely accepted that most fund managers under perform the market almost 95%+ of the time. We all just assume this is the case because they have to charge fees for their services on top of matching the market, but it seems it might be a little more than that. So why do we need fund managers or professionals?
We can always just invest ourselves and try to take a jab at it. We would maybe fall short or maybe we will get lucky and pull ahead. We can also try and become experts, but then if we do we will probably be doomed to under perform just like other experts. I have quite a few clients who do their own investing and actually live off of their income from trading. I kind of put these clients in the same realm of my professional gambler clients. I notice their actual incomes to be quite dismal in the grand scheme of losses and gains, but they sure have some really big roller coaster rides along the way. Living in a gambling town we always hear about the extraordinary big wins, but we never hear about how much was lost to make that money.
Working in insurance I see some these same big mistakes made. People look at insurance as a way to win the jackpot in having someone else pay for your losses. The way insurance is sold is through telling you about one incident where someone had a huge tragic loss and then the insurance came and saved the day. What they didn't tell you was about how much that family spent and the many other families that never used that coverage.
Life never works out the way we plan. We learn good principles and adhere to making good decisions and we create good outcomes. When insuring yourself against anything, take a look at what resources you have and think about what your real risks are. If you are making random decisions in your investments, maybe it would be a good idea to use an advisor who can minimize the downsides. If you are young and have a family, maybe get some term life insurance to protect them if you were to die prematurely. If you have a job that relies heavily on your good health, consider a good disability policy. If you are concerned about staying in good health, make sure and get a good health insurance policy, but don't be afraid of deductibles.
To sum up my question of why do we need fund managers and professionals, it is because we sometimes need some perspective on what we are missing. Maybe we have too much insurance or maybe we are under performing the market and just making less ideal choices. It is always helpful to take a look at what the crowd is doing on average and make sure we are't missing the boat.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Roth or not to Roth
What if you could save money on taxes now and still be able to save money on taxes in the future? Try splitting up your savings by investing in both pre tax and post tax accounts. If you invest 30% or so of your savings into a Roth account or even life insurance, you can use that tax free money to pay the taxes due on your taxable income. If you use Life Insurance as a tax free funding tool you also get the death benefit proceeds to help your family out with the tax issues and complications if you die prematurely.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Assurant Health announcement
Assurant announced on April 29 that they are getting out of the health insurance industry. See the press release here. To those in the industry this doesn't come as a huge surprise as the company stopped paying commissions on new business in January and has been terminating people as soon as the grace periods are over. Does this mean people are going to lose their coverage and be up the boat without a paddle? NO! They still will be covered and Assurant will still pay their claims. As soon as they figure out what is going to happen (either a sale or closing of the business) the insurance company will have to pay their claims and take care of all business for 6 months after they stop the health plans. Anyone who is enrolled in a plan with them now will continue to have business as usual without fear. It sounds like the changes won't go into affect until open enrollment, which means it will be super easy to go searching for a new plan. The question still remains of what will your options be for 2016 and will you be able to keep your doctor? (My guess is yes, but give us a call first to make sure)
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
How to save and invest your first $1,000
The more I learn the more I realize how naive I am. One of my favorite proverbs I have ever heard is a Haitian saying "What you don't know is bigger than you." When it comes to saving and investing nothing comes more close to that saying. I highly doubt anyone truly know every option available in the open market. There are tens of thousands of mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, stocks, etc that it becomes way too overwhelming. So where do you start?
I took the advice of a great speaker named Ramit Sethi and figured out how to save my first $1000 in an investment. I went online to a discount brokerage Schwab.com and opened up an account. It was just like creating an account anywhere else. I then tried to figure out how to add my bank account information to start transferring money from my bank account to the Schwab account. Since my goal was to start automatically saving, I searched for the section under mutual funds and automatic investing. Finding a good fund can be difficult, so I chose a very low cost fund that ties itself to the S&P 500 and is called an Index fund. There are a lot of index funds available and all they do is mimic the general overall market. There is no guess of what is going on every day and whether or not the company is doing good or bad. There is also no guess as to whether or not the fund is beating the market, because the fund is mimicking the market. If you hear on the news or go online and it shows the market went up 1% today your investments probably went up 1% as well.
Once I told the system to buy by index fund every month I couldn't figure out how to make it actually take the money from my bank account every month. I actually had to communicate with Schwab. I think this is why it is good to have some kind of human helping you such as an advisor or representative. They set up my automatic investing and I was set. Every month on the same day $100 exits my bank account then a couple days later a few shares of the mutual fund is purchased. Simple as that. The minimum you can do with automatic investing is $100, so it will only take you roughly 10 months and you will have your first $1,000.
I took the advice of a great speaker named Ramit Sethi and figured out how to save my first $1000 in an investment. I went online to a discount brokerage Schwab.com and opened up an account. It was just like creating an account anywhere else. I then tried to figure out how to add my bank account information to start transferring money from my bank account to the Schwab account. Since my goal was to start automatically saving, I searched for the section under mutual funds and automatic investing. Finding a good fund can be difficult, so I chose a very low cost fund that ties itself to the S&P 500 and is called an Index fund. There are a lot of index funds available and all they do is mimic the general overall market. There is no guess of what is going on every day and whether or not the company is doing good or bad. There is also no guess as to whether or not the fund is beating the market, because the fund is mimicking the market. If you hear on the news or go online and it shows the market went up 1% today your investments probably went up 1% as well.
Once I told the system to buy by index fund every month I couldn't figure out how to make it actually take the money from my bank account every month. I actually had to communicate with Schwab. I think this is why it is good to have some kind of human helping you such as an advisor or representative. They set up my automatic investing and I was set. Every month on the same day $100 exits my bank account then a couple days later a few shares of the mutual fund is purchased. Simple as that. The minimum you can do with automatic investing is $100, so it will only take you roughly 10 months and you will have your first $1,000.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Dental Insurance
I never knew there was a season for dental work and dental insurance but it seems like Spring is the time! Calls have increased and claims have started rolling in like crazy.
I actually dislike dental insurance. The purpose of buying insurance is to help you with the risk of possible losses. By having many people buy the insurance and have just a few actually make claims, helps keep costs low and makes insurance companies money. Since people typically don't go shopping for dental insurance until their teeth are hurting or they find out they are need of a lot of work, it makes the sale quite difficult. Insurance companies aren't in the business to lose money and they know that people who get cleanings done regularly and that purchase insurance ahead of time typically won't give them large claims, so they institute waiting periods. Group dental insurance plans don't use these when the group is large enough because they know for every one or two people who need work done right away there will be 2-5 people who don't need the work. When you are buying on your own, it is just you and the risk for the insurance company is too great. You will typically see 6 months for minor work and 12 months on major services. Dental Insurance DOES NOT cover implants, so don't even ask. There are a few carriers who will pay a small portion for services from day or year 1, but when they do that that give you small increments each year beyond that.
Dental HMO plans give you access to smaller dentist lists and they give the chance to participate in their low fee schedules. Due to the fact the insurance company isn't really on the line for any other costs, they don't have waiting periods, because you are paying out of pocket for the expenses.
If you need work done now, look into a discount program. If your dentists is a good friend, ask for a cash discount or work out payment plans. When you get insurance know you will wait, but know that you have the protection when you need it in the future.
I actually dislike dental insurance. The purpose of buying insurance is to help you with the risk of possible losses. By having many people buy the insurance and have just a few actually make claims, helps keep costs low and makes insurance companies money. Since people typically don't go shopping for dental insurance until their teeth are hurting or they find out they are need of a lot of work, it makes the sale quite difficult. Insurance companies aren't in the business to lose money and they know that people who get cleanings done regularly and that purchase insurance ahead of time typically won't give them large claims, so they institute waiting periods. Group dental insurance plans don't use these when the group is large enough because they know for every one or two people who need work done right away there will be 2-5 people who don't need the work. When you are buying on your own, it is just you and the risk for the insurance company is too great. You will typically see 6 months for minor work and 12 months on major services. Dental Insurance DOES NOT cover implants, so don't even ask. There are a few carriers who will pay a small portion for services from day or year 1, but when they do that that give you small increments each year beyond that.
Dental HMO plans give you access to smaller dentist lists and they give the chance to participate in their low fee schedules. Due to the fact the insurance company isn't really on the line for any other costs, they don't have waiting periods, because you are paying out of pocket for the expenses.
If you need work done now, look into a discount program. If your dentists is a good friend, ask for a cash discount or work out payment plans. When you get insurance know you will wait, but know that you have the protection when you need it in the future.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Are you saving?
In my recent conversations with clients and friends I have been trying to ask the question, "Are you saving your money?" Of all the financial gurus and financial programs I have studied I have learned one common thread that ties them all together: Save money.
I think some people are naturally born with this insight and others are taught it very young. For the rest of us it is just against our nature. The reason we have money is to buy things and since it feels like our resources are so low, when we get anything extra, we spoil ourselves with fun. Saving that money doesn't seem very fun, because it doesn't yield any instant gratification.
I have learned that in order to make saving fun I had to start doing it in a unique way. Just sticking extra money in a bank account or setting it aside doesn't work well for me. I can still see it there and it just sits, never growing or moving, just sits there as worthless cash. So instead of having the money be boring, why not start investing it? You don't have to have a lot of money to start investing. It really isn't all that difficult either. Most people tend to think they need financial advisors or lots of money to start investing. That couldn't be further from the truth. I wouldn't even bother hiring an advisor unless I had a ton of money, because their fees are way too high.
You can open a simple thing called a brokerage account from your favorite on line fund manager like etrade or schwab or Fidelity. You can start by choosing your favorite company where you spend a lot of your moey already and just buy a share or more of their stock. now you have "Saved" your money and purchased something that can be fun to watch. You can watch as your money fluctuates every day and know you own a part of that company you frequent often. If you are willing to set aside regular amounts of $100 or more a month you can just invest in an indexed mutual fund that mimics the stock market. When the market goes up or down for the day you can rest assured your money has done the same thing. When you get bored or want more excitement you can sell those stocks or mutual funds and buy something different. It seems like every rich person I have heard about started out in the stock market doing something similar to that- just buying a few stocks. I think by starting to buy small stocks they got more interested in what was going on. As they got smarter and smarter about the markets they made more and more money.
Sometimes stocks don't grow and you lose money. The good news is you probably won't ever lose all of it. If you hadn't invested you wouldn't have anything left over anyways and probably would much sadder had you done nothing at all. You also gained a lot of experience and can start earning more later.
I think some people are naturally born with this insight and others are taught it very young. For the rest of us it is just against our nature. The reason we have money is to buy things and since it feels like our resources are so low, when we get anything extra, we spoil ourselves with fun. Saving that money doesn't seem very fun, because it doesn't yield any instant gratification.
I have learned that in order to make saving fun I had to start doing it in a unique way. Just sticking extra money in a bank account or setting it aside doesn't work well for me. I can still see it there and it just sits, never growing or moving, just sits there as worthless cash. So instead of having the money be boring, why not start investing it? You don't have to have a lot of money to start investing. It really isn't all that difficult either. Most people tend to think they need financial advisors or lots of money to start investing. That couldn't be further from the truth. I wouldn't even bother hiring an advisor unless I had a ton of money, because their fees are way too high.
You can open a simple thing called a brokerage account from your favorite on line fund manager like etrade or schwab or Fidelity. You can start by choosing your favorite company where you spend a lot of your moey already and just buy a share or more of their stock. now you have "Saved" your money and purchased something that can be fun to watch. You can watch as your money fluctuates every day and know you own a part of that company you frequent often. If you are willing to set aside regular amounts of $100 or more a month you can just invest in an indexed mutual fund that mimics the stock market. When the market goes up or down for the day you can rest assured your money has done the same thing. When you get bored or want more excitement you can sell those stocks or mutual funds and buy something different. It seems like every rich person I have heard about started out in the stock market doing something similar to that- just buying a few stocks. I think by starting to buy small stocks they got more interested in what was going on. As they got smarter and smarter about the markets they made more and more money.
Sometimes stocks don't grow and you lose money. The good news is you probably won't ever lose all of it. If you hadn't invested you wouldn't have anything left over anyways and probably would much sadder had you done nothing at all. You also gained a lot of experience and can start earning more later.
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