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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress and was signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010. One of the benefits of the new health reform law is a tax credit given to certain small employers that provide health care coverage to their employees. This is effective with tax years beginning in 2010.
In order to be a qualified employer for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, the following conditions must be met:
(1) employer must have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) for the tax year
(2) average annual wages of its employees for the year must be less than $50,000 per FTE
(3) employer must pay the premiums under a “qualifying arrangement”
However, not all eligible business are taking advantage of this, probably due to confusion or lack of knowledge. Take, for example, the case in Missouri. There are about 85,000 small eligible businesses in Missouri, but approximately only 50 percent of those businesses are enjoying the benefits.
Applying for the credit is just like when processing a normal tax credit. Seeking assistance from a tax preparer can help ensure that the credit is filed properly, as well as get additional information about other benefits the new health care law may offer.
An enhanced version of the credit will be effective in 2014. For more information regarding the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, check IRS FAQs.
One of the key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is allowing small businesses to enjoy tax breaks, in the hope that this will encourage them to provide health care benefits to their employees. Tax credits are extended to small businesses for the purpose of covering the costs associated with providing health care coverage to employees, and are among the provisions of health care reform that are being implemented in the early stages of the implementation of the law.
Critics did not believe that the tax credits will have much of an impact, however, as many small businesses are not eligible for them. They are only available to companies that have less than 25 full-time employees (FTEs), and pay an average of $50,000, are eligible for these tax credits. Only companies with less than 10 FTEs and pay an average annual salary of less than $25,000 are eligible for the full credit of 35 percent.
This is exactly what is happening right now, according to a feature on The Seattle Times. An increasing number of small business organizations are now signing up to provide workers with help benefits, based on information provided by major insurers.
Gary Claxton, who oversees an annual survey of employer health plans for the Kaiser Family Foundation, shared the following comment with the Times: “We certainly did not expect to see this in this economy… it’s surprising.”
The results of the survey conducted by Kaiser revealed that the number of small business with a work force of less than 10 employees that provided health benefits increased, from 46 percent last year, to 59 percent.
A feature by Reuters shared an announcement made by the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, regarding grants towards designing technology needed for Health Insurance Exchanges.
Five states will be chosen to receive the two-year grants, called “Early Innovator” grants. States and coalitions of states will be competing for the grants, which will be used towards easing the cost of developing the IT infrastructure that will be needed to get Health Insurance Exchanges up and running.
Grant recipients will develop models, which will then be shared with other states to help them set up their exchanges.
HHS director of Health Insurance Exchanges spoke with reporters via a conference call, and shared that the “Early Innovator” grants will be given on February 15 to the states that have “ambitious-yet-achievable proposals that can yield IT models that can serve as best practices.”
No specific amount for the grants was revealed yet, though, and Ario said that HHS will be looking to states to see how much the proposals will cost.
The IT infrastructure needed to establish health insurance exchanges has been identified by states as the part of health care reform that may be most burdensome to them; developing the technology may prove to be both time-consuming and expensive. Ario shared with reporters that states have told the HHS that “they don’t want to all have to reinvent the wheel on each aspect of the exchange.”
The new health care reform law calls for health insurance exchanges to be established and operational by 2014.
Rep. Kendrick Brett Meek, representative of the 17th Congressional District of Florida to the House of Representatives, is one of the 40 co-sponsors of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Cong. Meek was born on September 6, 1966, in Miami, Florida, to former Congresswoman Carrie Pittman-Meek and Harold Meek. He finished high school at the Miami Springs Senior High School, and went on to study Criminal Justice at the Florida A&M University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in 1989. He was a football player both in high school and in college, playing defensive lineman in high school. Meek founded the Young Democrats Club at Florida A&M, and served as president of the Florida Young Democrats Organization.
After earning his degree, Meek joined the Florida Highway Patrol as a trooper. He eventually rose to the rank of captain, the first African-American to hold that rank. He was also the owner of K&L Security Services Company and a development representative of Wackenhut Corporation. He is married to Leslie Meek, with whom he has two children: Lauren and Kendrick Jr.
From 1995 until 1998, Meek served in the Florida House of Representatives. He then joined the Florida State Senate in 1998, serving until 2002.
On November 5, 2002, Kendrick Meek was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as his mother’s successor to the seat, after Congresswoman Carrie Pittman-Meek retired from office. He assumed office on January 3, 2003.
Rep. Kendrick Meek has been named the Democratic nominee in the 2010 Senate elections, vying for the seat that will be vacated when Sen. Mel Martinez retires.
Despite all the criticism and lawsuits hurled against health care reform by Republicans and other critics, there are those who truly believe that health care reform will bring good to the uninsured.
A report released by Families USA focuses on how the new health care law will be able to help about 1.3 million in Tennessee, according to a medical news feature on TriCities.com. The report is entitled “Health Reform: A Closer Look – Help for Tennesseans with Pre-existing Conditions.”
The figure of 1.3 million represents residents of Tennessee under the age of 65 who are suffering from pre-existing medical conditions. In the pre-health care reform era, these citizens find it hard to get health care coverage, and when they do, they are usually charged more than an arm and a leg for it.
With the advent of health care reform, however, this portion of the Tennessee population will be provided with more options in terms of health care. Tony Garr, the executive director of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign, had this to say: “Historic health reform cannot come too soon. This new report supports what a great number of Tennessee families have always known: don’t get sick or you may not be able to afford the quality care you need. Starting this year, Tennesseans with pre-existing medical conditions will have better options.”
The Tennessee Health Care Campaign has long worked towards providing those who are deemed “uninsurable” with fair health care coverage. It is therefore not surprising that they are supportive and satisfied about the provisions included in the new health care law.
Whether or not the passing of health care reform law had anything to do with it, plans being made by the National Restaurant Association, a restaurant trade group, and United Healthcare Inc., a health insurance company, will certainly be welcomed with open arms by workers in the food service industry.
According to a feature on NBC-DFW, the two groups worked together to come up with benefit options for food service workers in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Dubbed as the Restaurant Health Care Alliance plans, these benefit options may also be offered to Texans next year.
The feature relates the case of Josephine’s Italian Bistro manager Anna Waldron. While she loves her job she is unsure as to whether she will get to stay, as she is in need of one that will provide health care benefits. Her husband got laid off from a corporate job and their COBRA eligibility is set to end at the end of the month.
Waldron is among the millions of food service workers in the country, almost half of the population of workers in that industry, who are uninsured. They usually come from smaller restaurants and establishments that find it difficult to offer competitive salaries alongside attractive benefit options.
The Restaurant Health Care Alliance, according to the feature, is touted as the largest expansion of health care benefits in the private sector. Its implementation will have the ability to reduce the number of Americans who do not have health insurance by as much as 10 percent.
A feature on Yahoo Education presents a rather interesting proposition to those looking to build careers in the health services industry. The fact that health care reform has been signed into law will trigger a series of situations that will, at the bottom line, generate more jobs in health services.
Health care reform will lead to an increase in the number of people who will be covered by health insurance, which means that there will also be more people who will take advantage of the opportunity – and there will be a need for more professionals to provide them with the services that they need.
Among the significant changes will be the inclusion of adult children into their parents’ plans and the non-discrimination of individuals with pre-existing conditions.
There were five careers mentioned in the article, each carrying attractive salary estimates; the ways through which one can get into the listed careers were also discussed. Mentioned first are Registered Nurses (RNs). In order to get into the field, one will need to have a bachelor’s degree, an associate degree, or a diploma from an approved nursing program. A nursing license can be acquired after successfully passing a licensure exam.
Also expected to increase is the demand for medical and health services managers, who will do the planning and coordination of the delivery of health services. Nurse practitioners – RNs who have advanced training – will also be in demand as more patients will have the ability to receive and have access to medical care.
In a previous post, we shared with you that the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has joined a lawsuit against the health care reform law spearheaded by several states. Small businesses view the law as unconstitutional and “bad for business”. Federal officials, however, are saying that small businesses are actually eligible for more than what they thought under the new law in terms of tax credit provisions, according to a feature on ModernHealthcare.com.
The Treasury Department, according to Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy Michael Mundaca, has issued new guidance that indicates that small businesses are eligible for state and federal tax credits. Mundaca explained the guidance at a teleconference, clarifying that small businesses can receive the credit for traditional health insurance as well as for add-on dental, vision and other limited-scope health insurance coverage. As many as 4 million small businesses may be eligible for tax credits starting this year; businesses, however, will not be able to receive the credit until after they have been able to file their taxes in 2011.
Dan Danner, president and CEO of NFIB, said the following through a written statement: “Small-business owners everywhere are rightfully concerned that the unconstitutional new mandates, countless rules and new taxes in the healthcare law will devastate their business and their ability to create jobs.”
The guidance was released days after NFIB joined the lawsuit against health care, and Small Business Administration administrator Karen Mills said that most small businesses “are excited about this tax credit.”
