Will you take the challenge?

To review, HSAs are tax-advantaged medical savings accounts available to taxpayers who are enrolled in an HSA-qualified high-deductible health plan. The policyholder must not be covered by other non-HDHP health insurance or Medicare and cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return. The funds contributed to the account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unused amounts in one year can be carried over to following years and added to subsequent contributions.

HSA Contribution Limits: 

• Individuals (self-only coverage) – $3,250 (up $150 from 2012)
• Family coverage – $6,450 (up $200 from 2012)

HDHP Minimum Required Deductibles:

• $1,250 for self-only coverage
• $2,500 for family coverage

Out-of-Pocket Maximum:

(Out-of-pocket expenses include deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums)

• $6,250 for self-only coverage
• $12,500 for family coverage

Under guidelines implemented in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, over-the-counter drugs may only be reimbursed if they have a prescription. If a policyholder uses an HSA to pay for items or services that aren’t qualified medical expenses, the tax penalty is 20 percent of the HSA distribution.

It seems only appropriate that Mother’s Day, May 13, 2012, kick off National Women’s Health Week.  So often, women take care of their family, friends & careers, forgetting to be their own advocate and take care of themselves.

The week, observed by the US Department of Health and Human Service’s Office on Women’s Health, is intended to empower women to make their own health a top priority.

It is important that you remember to take the following steps to improve your physical and mental health to lower the risks of certain diseases.

Regularly visit a health care professional for checkups and preventive screenings.  Remember, preventive care is covered 100% by your insurance plan.

Eat Healthy.

Be Active.

Be cognizant of mental health – including stress management (I know, easier said than done) and getting enough sleep.

Avoid unhealthy /risky behavior.

Check out this interactive screen chart exclusively for women.  It includes Bone Health, Breast Health, Colorectal Health, Diabetes, Heart Health, Reproductive Health and Sexual Health, by age group.

For more information about Women’s Health Week, select the link.

So as to not exclude the younger ladies, please visit Health Information for Girls.

This year, Anthem is offering seven 30-minute webinars, ranging from wellness to future moms, to fit into your schedule and interest.  Each will last 30 minutes with an additional 15 minutes at the end for Q&A.  The free events feature success stories from other employers, reviews free online tools and strategies to inspire wellness in the workplace. We hope that you will be able to take advantage of one of the following six webinars still available.

Simply visit group.anthem.com/360healthca to sign up for free, live webinars, download helpful materials and listen to their library of past events.

Overview & Schedule

You may or may not have seen the ribbon with colorful puzzle pieces on car bumpers and pondered the meaning.  I personally did not quite know until I typed it into Google. The puzzle pieces signify the mystery and complexity of the autism spectrum.

Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Autism is a physical condition linked to abnormal biology and chemistry in the brain. The exact causes of these abnormalities remain unknown, but this is a very active area of research. There are likely combinations of factors that lead to autism.°

April denotes Autism Awareness month.  This is means educating others on what affects 1% of the population.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that an average of one in 110 children have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More children than ever before are being classified as having autism spectrum disorders. The CDC estimates that up to 730,000 people between the ages of 0 and 21 have an ASD. While we’re no authority on the topic, we do want to share with you changes in the insurance world as it affects Autism.

Effective July 1, 2012, California requires that insurance plan contracts provide hospital, medical, or surgical coverage to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment for pervasive developmental disorder or autism. The coverage shall be provided in the same manner and shall be subject to the same requirements as provided in Section 1374.72. (California Senate Bill 946)

These treatments include professional services and treatment programs, including applied behavior analysis and evidence-based behavior intervention programs that develop or restore, to the maximum extent practicable, the functioning of an individual with pervasive developmental disorder or autism and includes speech-language pathology and audiology.

We will have more information toward the end of April from the insurance carriers with specifics (summaries/EOC’s).  We will share this with you at that time.

While the Limited Use FSA differs from a Traditional FSA, they work in the same manner. Employees choose how much money they want to set aside in their account, based on the plan’s limits of course, on a pre-tax basis.  These funds are used to pay for eligible expenses.  Just like the Traditional FSA, any money not used at the end of the plan year are forfeited.  You may better know this rule as  “use it or lose it”.  The key difference between the Limited Use and Traditional FSA’s – Reimbursements are limited to eligible DENTAL and VISION expenses only.

Health Savings Accounts

As you may be aware, health savings accounts (HSA’s) were created so that individual can use tax favorable funds to pay for eligible medical expenses.  Unlike most other plans, the money in an HSA can be invested and grow on a tax-deferred basis.  There’s no use it or lose it rule.

To be eligible to contribute to an HSA, the individual must be covered (enrolled) under a qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP) and cannot:

• Be covered under any other health insurance that is not a high deductible health plan (like an HMO) or receive coverage from a spouse’s plan
• Be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return
• Be entitled to Medicare benefits

HSA’s save employers money by lowering the company’s taxable payroll.  Many employers choose to share a portion of these savings as contributions to their employees’ HSA’s to help employees meet the cost of their deductible.

Important Rules

While an individual who owns an HSA can participate in a traditional FSA, they are prohibited from contributing to their HSA while covered under the traditional FSA (or their spouse’s traditional health FSA).
It is important to point out that an individual covered under a Limited Use FSA can continue to make contributions to their HSA while using their pre-tax FSA funds to pay for eligible dental and vision expenses.

Adding Value

One of the main purposes of a health savings account is to allow the individual to use pre-tax dollars to meet the out-of-pocket obligations of the high deductible health plan.
While eligible dental and vision expenses can be paid through an HSA, many individuals prefer to limit the use of the HSA money to cover the health plan deductible and other out-of-pocket medical expenses.

By offering a Limited Use FSA to your employees, you give them the power to use pre-tax dollars for eligible dental and vision expenses while preserving HSA funds.  Remember, these dollars can gain in value and are not subject to the use it or lose it rule that applies to FSA’s.

To maximize both employer and employee savings, you can design the cafeteria plan to include HSA contributions.  Doing this allows employers and employees to make pre-tax contributions to the employees’ HSA’s and limited use FSA/s (subject to applicable rules and limitations).  These contributions are not subject to withholding from wages for income tax or subject to FICA, FUTA or the Railroad Retirement Act.

Employers Exempt from Reporting

Most employers that provide applicable employer-sponsored coverage during a calendar year are subject to the reporting requirement, including federal, state and local government entities with the exception of employers filing fewer than 250 Forms W-2 for the preceding calendar year. The revised guidance also clarifies that tribally chartered corporations that are wholly owned by a federally recognized Indian tribal government are exempt from the reporting requirement.

Dental & Vision Arrangement Reporting  

The Notice clarifies that the cost of coverage under a dental or vision plan is not included in the aggregate reportable cost if the plan is an excepted benefit under HIPAA (Q&A-20).

Reporting Requirements when Multiple Employers/Related Employers are Involved

The Notice clarifies the application for Form W-2 reporting when an individual is an employee of multiple employers within a calendar year. Each employer providing employer-sponsored coverage must report the aggregate reportable cost of coverage it provides.

The Notice also provides that if employers concurrently employ an employee and are related employers, with a common paymaster, the common paymaster must include the aggregate reportable cost of the coverage provided to that employee by all the employers for whom it services as the common paymaster.

If the employers do not share a common paymaster, then the employers may:

• Report the entire aggregate reportable cost on one of the Forms W-2 issued to the employee; or
• Allocate the aggregate reportable cost among the employers using any reasonable allocation method (Q&A-7).

Calculating the Reportable Cost when Straddling Two Tax Years

Calculating the Reportable Cost when Straddling Two Tax Years
When the final payroll period of a calendar year includes December 31, but continues into the subsequent calendar year, an employer may report that coverage period in one of the following ways:

• Treat the coverage as provided during the calendar year that includes December 31;
• Treat the coverage as provided during the calendar year immediately subsequent to the calendar year that includes December 31;
• Allocate the cost of coverage for the coverage period between each of the two calendar years using any reasonable allocation method, and apply the method consistently to all employees (Q&A-36).

The night will also include great food and libations.

Date: Tuesday, January 17

Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Location: Age Defy Dermatology & Wellness, Inc.

3803 So. Bascom Ave., Ste. 200

Campbell, CA 95008

(408) 559-0988

 Advanced Registration Cost
Members:  $50.00

Non-Members:  $60.00

Students:  $35.00

Register HERE

Enjoy the products & services of exhibiting vendors including:

Age Defy Dermatology & Wellness Inc.

Stillheart Institute

Integra Insurance

For Information, contact   Flor Harris

EPIOS Institute of Healing Arts

For Information, contact Martine Mahoudeau

Greenlite Medicine

Eternal Health Acupuncture

DoTerra

Xocai Healthy Chocolate

The 2012 IRS Indexed Figures (for the Adoption Credit, Adoption Credit through Section 125 Cafeteria Plans, Commuter Accounts, Health Savings Account and Long-Term Care) have been released and are as follows:

Dependent and/or Child Day Care Expenses

Just a reminder. Although the day care expense limit associated with a cafeteria plan is not indexed, the credit available through a participant’s tax filing was raised in 2003. The day care expenses credit must be filed on Form 2441, which should be attached to the 1040 tax filing form.

The cafeteria plan day care contribution limit remains at $5,000 for a married couple filing a joint return, or for a single parent filing as “Head of Household.” For a married couple filing separate returns, the limit is $2,500 each.

The limits for the day care expenses credit are $3,000 of expenses covering one child and $6,000 for families with two or more children. If one of the parents is going to school full time or is incapable of self-care, the non-working spouse would be “deemed” as earning $250 per month for one qualifying child and $500 for two or more qualifying children. This “deemed” earned income is to be used whether a person is using the employer’s cafeteria plan or taking the day care credit.

The day care credit is reduced, dollar for dollar, by contributions to or benefits received from an employer’s cafeteria plan. A participant may participate in their employer’s cafeteria plan and also take a portion of the day care expenses through the credit if they have sufficient expenses in excess of their cafeteria plan annual election, but within the tax credit limits.

Earned Income Tax Credit
By participating in a cafeteria plan, the participant will be lowering their income for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Check the new limits in IRS Publication 596 “Earned Income Credit” and for more information about this tax credit.

Social Security and Medicare Wage Base
For 2012, the Social Security wage base will increase to $110,100 from $106,800 in 2011. The tax rate for employee withholdings is 7.65% barring any last-minute legislation. The Social Security rate of 6.2% is applied to wages up to the maximum taxable amount for the year. The employer matching FICA rate remains at 7.65% of wages up to the maximum taxable amount. The Medicare portion of 1.45% is applied to all wages.

Indexed Compensation Levels
The indexed compensation levels for determining who is highly compensated or a key employee are as follows.

401(k) Plans
The maximum for elective deferrals will increase to $17,000 for 2012. And for those 50 or older, the catch-up contribution rate will remain the same as it was in 2011 at $5,500 for 2012.

The IRS recently released the 2012 maximum limits for qualified parking and transit benefits. As a result, the monthly maximum limit for the pre-tax transit benefit under a Section 132 transportation plan decreases from $230 to $125 per month for 2012. The limit for monthly transit benefits effective January 1, 2012 is $125. The limit for monthly parking benefits effective January 1, 2012 is $240, up $10 from the 2011 monthly maximum limit.