Beyond the Noise of Health Care Initiatives

A dozen tax planning triggersTax provisions for individuals and families impacted by the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) will be upon us in 2014. We are seeing the approach of Obamacare in many forms; by Congress members filibustering, through nightly news reports, constant advertisements, and announcements of businesses migrating away from offering health care insurance for some of their employee groups. How does someone make sense out of all this?What is happening now

From October 2013 thru March 2014, the open enrollment phase to obtain health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace begins. This Insurance Marketplace is a legal requirement for each state to publish health insurance options and related costs to all residents in their respective state. So please be prepared to be inundated with commercials from each state promoting their new Health Insurance Marketplace and the need for you to review your health coverage. Remember, unless something changes, those who do not have health insurance in 2014 could face additional federal tax in 2014.

What you need to know

Check Employer-provided insurance. If you currently have health insurance through your employer, the current media storm will, in all likelihood, not apply to you.
Check Sole-proprietors. If you are a sole-proprietor you may wish to review your current insurance coverage with the policies available in the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Check Currently without health insurance. If you do not have health insurance, pay attention. Not only will the Marketplace be a good resource to shop for a health insurance policy, your income may also qualify you for a federal Premium Tax Credit to lower your health insurance cost.

If you wish to learn more and determine the best course of action for you and your family visit www.healthcare.gov.

As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your situation please feel free to call.