"Use Form 7206 to determine any amount of the self-employed health insurance deduction you may be able to report on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 17. You may be able to deduct the amount you paid for health insurance, which includes medical, dental, and vision insurance and qualified long-term care insurance for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents."  MORE >>

"Count all employees, not just plan participants.... Count only common-law employees.... Count part-time employees.... Count employees of related entities (and successors).... Count employees and related entities outside the United States. "  MORE >>

"[FAQs Part 72] does not create new methods for providing benefits, but rather illustrates how current excepted benefits programs can be used to offer fertility benefits. It is unclear whether plan sponsors will use excepted benefits for fertility coverage, but the attention on fertility benefits may increase interest in other cost-effective family-planning options for plan participants and their families."  MORE >>

"[E]ven employers that clearly define their eligibility provisions may find themselves accidentally covering ineligible dependents. There could be financial, operational, and legal risks associated with this ... While there's little 'official' guidance about how dependent eligibility audits should be performed, [this article provides a list] of the items employers might want to keep in mind for the process."  MORE >>

"While a level funded plan may feel like a fully-insured plan since the monthly cost is level, there are important compliance differences ... Being aware of these potential pitfalls may help avoid unexpected surprises down the line.... Stop loss lasers ... Stop loss -- terminal liability ... State continuation coverage."  MORE >>

Video of November 19 hearing, with testimony by: [1] Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Ph.D.. American Action Forum; [2] Jason Levitis, Urban Institute; [3] Brian Blase, Ph.D., Paragon Health Institute; and [4] Bartley Armitage. Eugene, OR.  MORE >>

"Federal annuitants often don't have the same flexibility as federal employees when it comes to offsetting their health insurance costs, making it important to keep certain strategies in mind when weighing Open Season enrollment. Federal annuitants face two significant premium increases next year: [1] FEHB premiums will rise by an average of 12.3% for the enrollee share. [2] Medicare Part B premiums will increase by 9.67%."  MORE >>

"Congress must stop the widespread abuse of the drug patent system that prevents competition and keeps U.S. drug prices far too high.... Site-neutral payment reforms would lower costs and ensure American patients receiving the same service from the same entity in the same geography are charged the same price.... Policymakers should codify existing rules on Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) to give more employers a predictable mechanism for enrolling workers and their families in affordable health insurance coverage of their choosing."  MORE >>

"The United States ... has no mechanism to control overall health spending in our fragmented health system and then to compensate, we micromanage to control costs ... The posterchild of how this happens in the U.S. is prior authorization review,  ... [which] is becoming a duel between provider AI tools helping hospitals and large group practices out maneuver insurance company prior authorization, and insurance company AIs trying to weed out necessary from unnecessary care and promote 'value' as well as, of course, insurance company profits."  MORE >>