In Feb 09, Congress passed the ARRA of 2009. The Act included legislation which provides for extended Medical insurance benefits under Cobra and State Continuation laws for employees who lose their jobs involuntarily.  Under the new law eligible employees who were enrolled in their employers health plan at the time they lost their jobs are required to pay only 35% of the cost of the cobra or state continuation coverage. Employers Must pay the remaining 65% of the cost and are entitled to a tax credit on their payroll Tax return for the 65% of the premium paid.  These credits are available beginning with any Cobra premium payments made since March 1st 2009.

Question is How do we handle this ????

The IRS has issued guidelines that provide details on the administration of these Cobra premium assistance payments.  These guidelines allow for the Tax Credit to be claimed on the employers 941 Tax return beginning with the quarter ending March 31st 2009.  If you are eligible for the tax credit you must get a new form from the IRS to report this. Since all tax deposits have been made for the 1st quarter, these credits will be claimed as a refund on your 941 and you will receive a refund check directly from the IRS. IF you made any Cobra premium assistance payments in March, you Must Report these no later that April 15th in order for the tax credits to be claimed on your 1st quarter return.

LIsted below is a link which includes the supporting documentation you must maintain in order to claim the credits.

Http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204708,00.htm1

If you need assistance or have any questions, please call ABM Insurance and Benefit Services at 281-448-3040 or 1-800-362-2809 and ask for Dee Griffith or Mike Alexander, and they will be glad to answer your questions.

All employers need to be aware of the New ARRA law was passed and is in effect 03/01/2009.

This New Law has seven major areas that relate to an employers benefits plans. They are as follows:

Cobra Subsidy

Second Cobra Election Period

Cobra Plan ernollment options

Employment Tax Offset for Cobra subsidy

HCTC

Transit Pass Limit for Transportation plans

HIPPA Technology

The Major change is a 65% Cobra subsidy for up to 9 months for Eligible individuals who had an initial qualifying event on or after Sept 1, 2008 and on or before Dec 31st 2009

To be elibible for this subsidy:

The qualifing event must be for the involuntary employment termination for reasons other that gross misconduct.

The subsidy is available to all coverage connectied with that qualifying event, except Health FSA’s which are excluded

The employee must eleict cobra or state continuation coverage ,( this effects all sizes of employers)

The indivuduals income must be less than 125,000

The employer is required to pay 65% of the eligible employee’s premium for up to 9 months, and the employee will pay 35% ,  This will surely increase the administrative functions for the employer to keep up with this,

This is only for medical coverage and it excludes, Dental, Vision, FSA, HRA, Eap plans, and on site medical clinics.

2nd Cobra Election Period

Those who did not have a current Cobra election on Feb 17th 2009, will have a second election period of 60 days. Employers must send out notices to the eligible employess.

Employment Tax offset for Cobra Subsidy

The way the subsidy works is that eligible employees pay the reduced Cobra premium each month, The employer is required to make up the balance by reducing its employement tax depostis (only income tax, ss taxes and medicare taxes) and reporting the offsets on the 941 form, two new lines 12A and 12B are being added to the 941 for reporting, at this time no changes are proposed for the W2 or W3 forms.

HCTC Credit

The HCTC is a 65% tax credit for health coverage that is available to the following:

Those receiving TAA because they lot thier job do to foreign Competion

Those receiving TAA under a demo program for older workers

Those whose pensions are being paid by the PBGC

Increase in Transit pass limits for Transportation

The reimbursement amounts have be raised for companies who offer transportation benefits for their employees.

HIPPA Tecnology

ARRA allotted 17 billlion to invest in Health information Tecnology.

If any company needs copies of notices and forms please contact Dee Griffin at ABM Insurance and she can help you with getting the proper forms and if you would like a copy of the new ARRA law summary, please email Mike Alexander at mike.alexander@cobensrv.com or call 281-448-3040 for details.

I get asked this question a lot.  Around 6 out of 10 Colleges recommend specific Health Insurance plans for Students, Many of these plans are very limited in scope and benefits. Some of the Schools get a reimbursement from the insurance companies for hawking their policies.

The best bet is to get your own Health Insurance program for your student. Many times you can get a comprehensive Major Medical plan for what you would pay for a Limited benefit School sponsered plan.

You should always shop for the best plan, do not assume that the school recommended plan is the best.

Go to www.abminsuranceservices.com or call Crystal at 800-362-2809 for a free quote on your Student Medical Insurance needs.

A lot of people call me and ask me, Why are some of my medications going up on my co-pay amounts?? The reason for this is that many Health Insuance companies are charging patients a percentage of the cost on certain High Priced Medications, instead of Fixed co pays.  This can increase cost for some patients by Thousands of dollars a year.

What to Do ?? 

Ask you doctor to prescribe an older less expensive drug or one that has gone generic.  These meds work as good as the newer high priced versions.

You can also use the FREE Service from Amerisave Plans, go to www.amerisaveplans.com , please be sure to use the Discount Code # 377. 

If you would like a Free Brochure on the amerisave program, email me at mike.alexander@cobensrv.com for an order form and sample pricing, Amerisave can save you up to 60% on the cost of your meds.

For a Free report “” How to lower  your prescriptions costs by 50% “” email me at Mike.alexander@cobensrv.com

 Another Tip,

Do not toss unused prescriptions down the Toliet!!!!! They could seep into drinking water and harm the enviroment.

“”To safely dispose of unused pills, remove them from the container, mix them with used coffee grounds, or cat litter, put in a plastic bag, seal it and dispose of it with your trash.  Another way is to use a pharmaceutical take back site for safe disposal. Go to http://earth911.org.

As with various medical services, there are programs that provide free or low cost Physican care.

Listed below are a few of them.

Health Centers:  go ot http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov or call 888-275-4772.  These centers provide free or nominal cost Health and Dental care.

Free Clinics:  There are over 1,000 privately funded (not governement funded) Clinics ins the US, that provide care to those uninsured and underinsured populations at little or no cost.  To find one in your area, go to www.freemedicalcamps.com

Remote Area Medical:  This group was featured on 60 minutes a few months ago, they provide free medical, dental and vison care to uninsured and underinsured people in remote areas of the US. go to www.ramusa.org.

Mission Cataract USA: provides free cataract surgery to people who dont have Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance or who cannot afford the surgery  cal 800-343-7265 or www.missioncataractusa.org

New Eyes for the needy:  A not for profit eyeglasses program who accepts donations of used eyeglasses and distributes them to people in need in the US. call 973-376-4903 or www.neweyesfortheneedy.org.

Vison USA”  Sponsered by the American Optometric Association, they provide eye exams and glasses to people who cannot afford to pay for them, Call 800-766-4466 or www.aoa.org.

Local Lions Club:  go to www.lionsclubs.org to find programs that your local Lions Clubs offers to the public.

If you would like a copy of the Free Report  “”Low Cost Doctor Care”" please email me at mike.alexander@cobensrv.com or call us at ABm Insurance & Benefit Services Inc at 800-362-2809 ext 223, ask for Free Report 004.

A lot of Insurance Agents Push the HSA benefits to employers without explaining to employers Why a Linked HRA and Non Linked HRA Account may be better for both the Employer and the Employee.

A linked HRA (also referred to as a “Stand Alone HRA) is tied to the componet of the health plan. It limits or coordinates the HRA benefit with coverage specified by the insurance component.

A non linked HRA is not tied to the insurance component of the health plan.  Covered expenses fall under guidance of Section 213d - however the plan design may cover only a portion or single benefit. Examples include the following:

Vision and Dental HRA

Medicare eligible HRA

Extended HRA

My favorite tool is the HRA, HRA’s simply provide for reimbursement of certain medical expenses for employees and Dependents via an employer only funding arrangement. HRA’s are largely governed by IRS sections 105 and 106 which say an HRA’s favored tax status (for employees, employers realize deductions under coder 162.  HRA dollars are funneled through a notional or unfunded account by which an employee receives reimbursement for qualified and substantiated medical expenses. “”Think of it as a promise to pay arrangement. “”  Any unused dollars can be rolled over from year to year according to the needs as wishes of the employer who retains any promised but unused dollars in the event of employee attrition.

This is one advantage that most employers have yet to take advantage of . While I support HSA’s and the funding of them by dedicated and caring employers  -  many suffer needlessly by supporting HSA accounts in an enviroment prone to high attrition, so when the employees he keeps the HSA funds, Under the HRA, the employer keeps the unused funds.    I recommend that the employees contribute to the HSA, but employers should only put their funds in an HRA.

Some requiements of HRA’s

1)  Only employers may contribute, unlike an HSA that will allow contributions from employer and employee alike

2) An HRA cannot be run thru a Cafeteria Plan.  It can however: work well along with a Cafeteria plan.

3) Reimbursements may only be paid out to qualified individuals - meaning employees, former employees, spouses and qualified dependents

4) HRA coverage must be in place at the time an expense is incurred

5)HRA’s are subject to section 213dand cannot cover qualified expenses tht have been reimbursed elsewhere.  HRA’s can cover health insuance premiums for qualified individuals.

6) Claims must be substaintiated correctly

7) Spend down features can be installed but with an HRA when the employee is terminated the excess funds in the account belong to the Employer,

Coverage period is not subject to the mandatory 12 month period required for FSA’s providing greater Flexibility

9) HRA’s are not subject to uniform coverage ruling.

At ABM Insurance & Benefit Services Inc, Our design team can set up a custom designed program for companies of 2 employees or a 1000 employees.  With our Custom design software, we can make your benefit costs much lower than anyone in the marketplace, and improve your benefit program and help your bottom Line.   Call us at 281-448-3040 for a free no obligation consultation, Ask for Mike Alexander Jr at Ext 225 or 223.

47 Million Americans lack Health Insurance and several million more are underinsured, how do these citizens get Free or low cost Health Care ?  Fortunately, in this Great Country of ours free or low cost Health Screenings are provided through variours organizations, government agencies and even some businesses.

No one in the USA can make an excuse for not having these free or low cost screenings done.

How do you find out about these Free or low cost health services in your area ??

1) Call the city Health Department

2) Check with local Hospitals and Clinics, pharmacies, and your area Agency on Aging.

3) National and local Health associations that focus on specific diseases also have available free or low cost services.

Here are a few of these programs:

Free or low cost Cancer Screenings:  Call the American Cancer Society 800-227-2345 or the National Cancer Institure at 800-422-6237

Legs for Life:  offers Free screenings for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), call 800-448-7284 or go to www.legsforlife.org. Most screenings take place in Sept of each year, and you must call for an appointment

Society for Vascular Surgery:  provides free or low cost vascular screenigns.  Go to www.vascularweb.org, (click on Patients and families , then click Vascular Screenings)

The Wise Woman Program: This is for uninsured and underinsured women between the ages of 40 to 64. The CDC offers free blood pressure and cholesterol tests in 20 states, as well as diabetes and osteroporosis, they also offer Cancer screenings for Breast and Cervical Cancer. Call 800-232-4636 or go to www.cdc.gov/wisewoman.

National Mammography Day:  On the 3rd friday of Oct every year (10-17 in 2008)  Hospitals and clinics across the USA, offer free or low-cost Mammograms to women who are uninsured or underinsured.  go to www.nbcam.org (click on find a mammography center, then call the site to see if it is free or has a nominal cost.

Prostate Cancer Educational Council:   Offers free screenings to men age 45 and up, www.pcaw.org or call 866-477-6788. Usually goes on Sept 14th to Sept 20, in 2008.  No excuses for the men, this is a free test each year.  Also the NPCC has mobile units  call 888-245-9455 or www.fightprostatecancer.org.

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: Free Screenings each year go to www.acaai.org (click on Patient Education to find locations in your area)

And last but not least, the Pharmacy Chain Walgreens is sponsoring a free health screening program across the USA, called the “Take Care Health Tour “  This 300 city 12 month tour offers six Free Screenings-Cholesterol, blood pressure, bone density, glucose levels, body mass index and waist circumference.  Call 866-484-8687 or go to www.walgreens.com/about/community/wellness/tour.jsp

As you can see, the private sector has many free or low cost services for those who either lack health insurance coverage or are underinsured for many services.  We as a country never let people go without health care.  Be weary of the politicians who want to force Government run Heathcare on the public, As the saying goes:  “” Americans take care of those in need”"

For other wellness or Free Health care facilities, call us at ABM Insurance and Benefits Services Inc, at 281-448-3040, and we will be glad to send you a special report on Free Important Tests and services ask for

Free Report #003,  email me at mike.alexander@cobensrv.com

A new bill The Senior Investor Protection Act of 2008 has been passed to help Senior’s Avoid Fraud (SIPA)

Seniors are preyed upon by Financial Advisors who advise them to invest all of their Retirement funds into Annuities and do not inform them 0f the pitfalls of Annuities,

Annuities are not for everyone and do not meet all the needs of the seniors retirement goals.

Many of the so Called Financial Advisor Designations are just a smoke screen to promote false assurance to the senior to invest their money with them.

The investigation revealed that many of the designations represent limited or no value with respect toward advising seniors on financial matters and that this designation is obtained simply by attending a weekend seminar and passing an open book test.

In many cases state licensing requirements for investment advisors were found to be far less stringent that those needed to practice in other professional fields.

The bill authors felt that it was time the states needed more stringent requirements.

Sip also call on the investment and insurance industries to be part of the solution.

Seniors should be cautious of all Designations and stick with a well know Fee Based advisor, who does not receive commissions from the sale of products and make sure the advisor provides them with a full disclosure statement and a copy of their Errors and Omissions Policy before doing business with them.

Seniors should never make a decision on the 1st visit, we recommend that seniors always check out the advisor and his company before doing any business with them and to have their attorney or Tax Advisor review any documents before they sign or enter into any type of investment contracts.

Remember “Let the Buyer Beware” and deal only with trusted advisors and people you trust.

Mike Alexander

ABM Insurance & Benefits Services Inc.

Mike is a Licensed Risk Manager in the State of Texas .