The IRS has released a variety of documents related to reporting Affordable Care Act Advance Premium Tax Credit reconcilation, exemptions from the mandate to have health insurance coverage, and directions for caculating the Shared Responsibility Payment. Before taxpayers can crunch the numbers on their tax refund or liability they will have to either either a […]
Archives for December 2014
IRS guide to calculating ACA tax credits
The IRS has published a taxpayer friendly guide to assist individuals and families with attempting to calculate their Affordable Care Act tax credits. The focus of IRS Publication 5187 Health Care Law: What’s New for Individuals & Families is on the Shared Responsibility Payment (individual mandate penalty) and calculating eligible Premium Tax Credits for 2014. Pub. 5187 is […]
Calculating IRS individual mandate health insurance penalty
Anyone who did not have health insurance for a period of more than three months during 2014 will have to pay a penalty on their IRS federal tax return. This penalty is also known as Affordable Care Act Shared Responsibility Payment. The ACA has given taxpayers who went without having health insurance for a period during […]
Easy hiking on Folsom’s Peninsula Campground trails
Even though I had visited the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area Peninsula Campground on many occasions, I had never really hiked the established trail system at this park site until December of 2014. The trails at the Peninsula Campground are nice and wide and easily accommodate hikers, bikers and horseback riders. Developed either from old […]
Jones excoriates Aetna increase while ignoring Health Net rates
California Department of Insurance Commission Dave Jones excoriated Aetna in a news release on December 18th over Aetna’s planned small group premium increases but he was noticeably silent when Health Net submitted a similar rate increase for individuals and families. The average increase for the 2015 Health Net IFP PPO plans is 10.8% while the Aetna small group […]
Covered California cancels 4,100 Health Net members
Health Net is reporting that Covered California has cancelled 4,100 members for no apparent reason. This information was sent to all Health Net brokers on December 19, 2014. The coverage for these members will end December 31st unless the member or agent takes action to renew the health plan by Sunday December 21, 2014. Health Net […]
How to pay for your 2015 Covered California plan
If you didn’t forget your Covered California user ID or your password, it’s easy to make the first month’s premium payment with a click from the enrollment website. However, for those individuals and families that were enrolled in a new health plan for 2015 but don’t have a Covered California, making the first payment may still […]
Covered California extends 2015 enrollment deadline
In response to high call volume for assistance and a website that has gotten slow and started crash at times, Covered California issued and Agent Alert notifying Certified Insurance Agents that they were extending the deadline for 2015 renewals and enrollment until December 21, 2014. URGENT! You Have Extra Time to Help Consumers Complete Enrollment for January 1st! […]
Agents should be paid commissions on Medi-Cal enrollments
What’s the difference between a Covered California enrollment for a subsidized private plan and Medi-Cal? Nothing when assisted by a Certified Insurance Agent. A Medi-Cal enrollment takes just as much knowledge, experience and time to perform for an agent as an enrollment for a private plan through Covered California. Yet, a Medi-Cal enrollment only yields […]
Mixed Medi-Cal Kids and Covered California families may face renewal issues
Covered California released a breaking news alert to agents on December 12th, 2014, that mixed households, those with children in Medi-Cal and the parents on a Covered California subsidized private plan, may face delays in selecting a health plan until the respective county finishes their review for eligibility. New! Mixed Households: Renewal Update County social services […]