And Obamacare starts to take effect...

[CosmicCowboy]

The joys of providing my employees with healthcare...

From my insurance agent:


Healthcare Reform included the creation of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to help the public get the best possible information about treatment choices and make an informed decision. This research is to be funded in part with fees paid by health insurance companies (issuers) and sponsors of self-insured health plans. These fees are called comparative effectiveness research fees or CER fees.

PROPOSED REGULATIONS were issued on April 17, 2012 by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Additional revisions are sure to follow, however, we wanted to provide you information that is currently available.

HOW ARE THE CER FEES REPORTED AND PAID?
In general, the CER fees are paid like taxes under the Internal Revenue Code. The fees will be payable once a year on IRS Form 720 (Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return). Form 720 and full payment of the research fees will be due by July 31 of each year. It will generally cover plan years that end during the preceding calendar year. Thus, the first possible due-date for filing Form 720 is July 31, 2013.

WHAT SHOULD EMPLOYERS DO NOW?
Because the first possible deadline for reporting and paying the CER fees is July 31, 2013, employers have some time before they must start paying these research fees.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE TO PAY THE FEES?

1) All ASO plans have to pay the fee, with first payment due by 7-31-2013 for 2012 calendar year plans, and it will be reported to the IRS on Form 720.
2) Fully insured plans – the carrier is charged with paying the fee.
3) If an employer funds:
a. an HRA by $500 or more, or
b. an FSA by more than the employee contribution plus $500

HOW TO CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF COVERED LIVES ON WHICH TO BASE THE FEE:
There will be several options (as outlined in the attached Legislative Brief), however the “snap shot” method seems the easiest to use and works as follows:

1) Take a count on one day each quarter and average the count
2) The count is determined by counting each single coverage as 1 and each coverage other than single as 2.35. For example if you have 10 single coverage’s, and 5 with dependents the count would be 22 (5 x 2.35 = 11.75 + 10 = 21.75).
3) For HRA and FSA plans the count is simply 1 for each covered employee regardless of dependent status. So in the example in #2 above, the count would be 15.


For additional information, please refer to the enclosed Legislative Brief.

As always, we are here to assist you, so please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

[Wild Cobra]

How much do you think it will fuck you and your business?

Will you have to lay off any employees?

[coyotes_geek]

Make sure to tell your employees that, as their boss, you get to serve on their death panel. :p:

[coyotes_geek]

Srsly though, I know that whole thing is going to be a huge pain the arse for you.

[boutons_deux]

so maybe you support a hard-core public health insurance option so companies can get out of the health insurnace business (other than deducting PO premium from salaries, just as SS is deducted).

[TDMVPDPOY]

this is what i dont get in america, why are businesses footing the bill for private healthcare for the employees?

shouldnt it be employees paying for their own healthcare? down here its ur choice to whether go on the public or private system, at no costs to the business employer...it doesnt really make a difference anyway besides selecting ur choice of doctors/surgeons, but anything else is the same price and benefits unless you plan to exploit the system what its intended for....

the only form of healthcare insurance an employer would provide is either workcover for injuries on the job and indeminity insurance....


all this new reform = more paperwork

[boutons_deux]

this is what i dont get in america, why are businesses footing the bill for private healthcare for the employees?


3] Henry J. Kaiser organized hospitals and clinics to provide pre-paid health benefits to his shipyard workers during World War II. This became the basis for Kaiser Permanente HMO. Most early HMOs were non-profit organizations. The development of HMOs was encouraged by the passage of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973. The first employer-sponsored hospitalization plan was created by teachers in Dallas, Texas in 1929.[26] Because the plan only covered members' expenses at a single hospital, it is also the forerunner of today's health maintenance organizations (HMOs).[23][26][27]


Employer-sponsored health insurance plans dramatically expanded as a result of wage controls during World War II.[26] The labor market was tight because of the increased demand for goods and decreased supply of workers during the war. Federally imposed wage and price controls prohibited manufacturers and other employers raising wages high enough to attract sufficient workers. When the War Labor Board declared that fringe benefits, such as sick leave and health insurance, did not count as wages for the purpose of wage controls, employers responded with significantly increased benefits.[26]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_insurance

[boutons_deux]

"shouldnt it be employees paying for their own healthcare?"

Most couldn't afford it. Family of four avg annual costs about $15K now.

Employees' salaries get diverted directly, as non-taxed employer business expense, to for-profit insurers. and employees get most their coverage an untaxed benefit.

[Wild Cobra]

"shouldnt it be employees paying for their own healthcare?"

Most couldn't afford it. Family of four avg annual costs about $15K now.

Employees' salaries get diverted directly, as non-taxed employer business expense, to for-profit insurers. and employees get most their coverage an untaxed benefit.
And that makes them entitled?

Fuck that mentality.

[Spurminator]

And that makes them entitled?

Fuck that mentality.


No it means the cost structure is out of whack. Fuck your mentality.

[Borat Sagyidev]

And that makes them entitled?

Fuck that mentality.


No it means the cost structure is out of whack. Fuck your mentality.


Yup it's the cost structure, but nobody never wants to discuss that. The health care industry has taken advantage of must-pay health insurance contracts.

Who do conservatives blame? Anyone but the health care industry.

[Stringer_Bell]

How much do you think it will fuck you and your business?

Will you have to lay off any employees?

I second these questions. If CC could provide some details, that'd be helpful since I have no fuckin' idea what all the regulations posted actually mean. Overall, looks like a big inconvenience but it's tough to tell if it's the crushing blow that the GOP is talking about.

[mercos]

I feel for you CC. This is one of the reasons I want a single payer system. The current insurance system is a burden on businesses across America, and has been for some time. These are two things that should not be connected.

[Wild Cobra]

No it means the cost structure is out of whack. Fuck your mentality.
You need to look at why the cost structure is out of whack instead of feeding it more the same shit that put it out of whack.

[Wild Cobra]

I second these questions. If CC could provide some details, that'd be helpful since I have no fuckin' idea what all the regulations posted actually mean. Overall, looks like a big inconvenience but it's tough to tell if it's the crushing blow that the GOP is talking about.
I personally think it will be harmful to business, but I do know I could be wrong. If it becomes only a fraction of a percent increase in the cost of hiring someone, I say no big deal. I think it's going to be a notable increase however.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

You need to look at why the cost structure is out of whack instead of feeding it more the same shit that put it out of whack.

So please tell us what makes it out of whack. I could use a good laugh.

[CosmicCowboy]

I second these questions. If CC could provide some details, that'd be helpful since I have no fuckin' idea what all the regulations posted actually mean. Overall, looks like a big inconvenience but it's tough to tell if it's the crushing blow that the GOP is talking about.

Damned if I know. By my calculation using their formula I currently pay for 24 "lives". What I don't know yet is how much the fee is going to be per unit.

[Th'Pusher]

Damned if I know. By my calculation using their formula I currently pay for 24 "lives". What I don't know yet is how much the fee is going to be per unit.

I thought you were just going to drop coverage for your employees, increase their pay to cover the cost of private insurance via the exchanges and pocket $20k?

[TeyshaBlue]

Yup it's the cost structure, but nobody never wants to discuss that. The health care industry has taken advantage of must-pay health insurance contracts.

Who do conservatives blame? Anyone but the health care industry.

You can put your broad brush away and use a grownup pencil now.:rolleyes

[Yonivore]

The joys of providing my employees with healthcare...

From my insurance agent:


WHO IS RESPONSIBLE TO PAY THE FEES?
Employees.

If the carrier is responsible -- premiums rise.

If the employer is responsible -- wages fall.

The employee always pays.

[CosmicCowboy]

I thought you were just going to drop coverage for your employees, increase their pay to cover the cost of private insurance via the exchanges and pocket $20k?

I may very well do that after I do the math. I still don't have enough numbers to substitute for variables to run the equation.

[Wild Cobra]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but on a benifit like this, until the actual future cost is known, businesses tend not to hire new employees until they cannot work the current ones harder any longer. Am I right?

The overtime some of the people are getting at my place of employment is really high right now. They simply are afraid to hire new people.

[CosmicCowboy]

Don't know if this is 100% accurate but I wouldn't worry about breaking the bank

This is just the first notice. Who knows what all is in there?

[Wild Cobra]

Don't know if this is 100% accurate but I wouldn't worry about breaking the bank


This is just the first notice. Who knows what all is in there?
Well, my employer said they are doing their best not to hire any more people till 2014. This might be why, not knowing what the amount may escalate to.