News

Health Care Issues for 2010
It’s hard to view a television program, listen to the radio, read a newspaper without something about Health Care being discussed. With regard to National Universal Health Care, the tide on reactions from the public put a halt on any action before the August congressional “vacation”, and we hope nothing will happen before real reform is discussed.

In the coming months we will discuss some real reforms the Congress should undertake. These include but are not limited to: Tort Reform, pre-existing clauses, under and uninsured issues, and State Insurance Department complications. We’ll also discuss how to get out of this mess and how to survive, no matter what the state and federal government does.

Let’s discuss the easy one first. Easy, not because it’s good, but because it’s a “done deal” and we (at least for now) cannot do anything about it.

 New York State:
With the enactment of the state Deficit Reduction Plan, the state tax on premiums has increased 73% since 2003. Employers premiums have either increased 4 to 6 % on 7/1/09 to offset the state increase, or the increase will be in the 01/01/10 premium notice. Total NYS taxes on your health care premiums are now 10 %.

Submitted by:
William H. Combs, CLU