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San Jose Mercury-News, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune Endorse Yes On Prop 45, Say: Ballot Initiative Would Bring Prop 103 Savings To Health Insurance, according to Consumer Watchdog Campaign

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three Northern California newspapers have endorsed Proposition 45, comparing it to California's landmark insurance reform initiative Proposition 103 that has saved drivers tens of billions of dollars over the last 25... Reported by PR Newswire 23 hours ago.

Direct Auto Insurance for Used Car Owners Now Priced Online Through Insurer Portal

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Direct auto insurance is now priced for used car owners through the Quotes Pros website at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.

Tampa, FL (PRWEB) September 20, 2014

American drivers who own used vehicles can now find direct auto insurance pricing for different policies in the U.S. through the Quotes Pros website. A new resource for reviewing affordable prices has been installed at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html and is now accessible by motorists.

The direct price data that can now be reviewed when accessing the public system makes use of a single zip code as the primary search feature for locating the pricing. This new way to review and compare agency price data is allowing more security for the average person when conducting price shopping online.

"The used motor vehicle insurance prices that can be explored using our website are supplied by groups of national companies," said one Quotes Pros rep.

The car owner research database that is now provided is linked to state companies that specialize in providing direct car insurance policies each year. Due to the zip code sorting process, many agencies can be compared at the same time to cut out some of the research time used by consumers to find price data.

"The price structures that a person has available to review when using our system can be useful when comparing annual or monthly costs between agencies," said the rep.

The Quotes Pros website will continue to provide a link between agencies nationwide this year. The supply of automotive coverage providers that can be reviewed is in addition to the life, health and business insurance providers that are found at http://quotespros.com/health-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company uses a portal to educate the public about costs in the insurance industry each year. A database is offered on the homepage that connects with companies in all 50 states to distribute price details for selected plans. The QuotesPros.com company has installed a zip code sort process that allows public to review of a listing of companies that pertain to a specified geographic area to help consumers price policies. Reported by PRWeb 22 hours ago.

Cheapest Car Insurance for New Drivers Now Quoted Through Internet Insurer Portal

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Rates for the cheapest car insurance for new drivers in the U.S. can now be reviewed using the Quotes Pros company at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.

Midland, TX (PRWEB) September 20, 2014

Drivers who have obtained a first license to drive a motor vehicle this year can now find special rates for insurance coverage using the Quotes Pros website. The portal at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html now supplies some of the cheapest car insurance for brand new drivers in the U.S.

The tool that is now offered can help a person to search for agencies by zip code to obtain the most accurate price data available. The tool makes use of an entered zip to search the open database of providers that provide discounts or other incentives to new drivers in most states this year.

"The available quotes database that we're providing to the public provides the option to review different coverage policy prices in a single location," said a Quotes Pros rep.

The low rates that are possible to review when using the programmed database this year are supplied to consumers by individual insurers or brokers. There are now price details for high risk, full coverage or state minimum plans that are easy to find and review using the formatted database tool.

"The motorists who use our website as a search resource for insurance coverage can access an entire list of companies that are willing to quote pricing virtually," said the rep.

The Quotes Pros company has made changes to its format this year for linking consumers with insurers on its homepage. Along with the zip review process, the public now has options to find annual price information for life or health insurance coverage at http://quotespros.com/life-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company helps the public to find and to quote insurance rates from its portal on the Internet each year. The new data that appears for the public to review is offered by actual companies that supply the coverage plans in the industry. The QuotesPros.com company is one of the companies in the U.S. that opens up its connected system for public research on a daily basis. Reported by PRWeb 22 hours ago.

High Risk Car Insurance Policies Now Quoted at National Insurer Portal Online

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High risk car insurance is now quoted for different policy types through the Quotes Pros website at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.

Orlando, FL (PRWEB) September 20, 2014

Motor vehicle owners who are required to hold a high risk car insurance policy can now find out annual pricing for these plans using the Quotes Pros website. New quotes are being generated for national plans at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html.

The policy quotes that are supplied through the company database are calculated accurately by each agency that supplies the coverage types requested. The SR22 and other risk based plans that some drivers require in the U.S. are among the policies available to research for price details.

"The national system that we're allowing exploration of through our website can introduce car owners to companies that provide one-time or special discounts for high risk plans," said a Quotes Pros source.

The risk level plans for coverage that can be found when reviewing the QuotesPros.com company website are now mixed in with the additional policies for standard car owners. Rates for motorists who do not require a risk level plan can be found for full coverage, collector or liability policies.

"Any car owner who can supply a zip code that matches agencies offering policy pricing in our system can connect with companies easier this year," said the source.

The Quotes Pros company website has been updated multiple times throughout this year as other agencies have been entered into the sortable database available. The price data for policies that include life, health and renters protection is also available at http://quotespros.com/health-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company supplies a quotation for insurance pricing through its homepage portal online. The data is offered by agencies throughout North America and a purchase of a plan is possible visiting agency websites. The QuotesPros.com company supplies a link to health, motorcycle, life, auto, renters, business and homeowner insurance plan pricing using its database finder system each day. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.

Experient Health Offers Step-by-Step Instructions to Enroll in Health Insurance Marketplace in Latest Online Blog Post

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By enrolling in a health plan through the Marketplace — the system created to help standardize and streamline individual insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — individuals and families can receive guaranteed consumer protections while maintaining the flexibility to choose a plan that fits their individual needs.

Richmond, Va. (PRWEB) September 21, 2014

Health insurance Marketplace seem daunting?

Experient Health, the health insurance arm of the Virginia Farm Bureau, released a step-by-step instruction for enrolling in the health insurance Marketplace.

Starting last year, open enrollment and coverage went into effect beginning January 1.

"Though Marketplace enrollment is now closed for this year, enrollment for 2015 will begin starting in the fall of 2014," Experient Health wrote.

In order to secure coverage through Marketplaces, Experient Health advises following these four steps:

1. Set up an account. Here individuals will provide some basic information to get started, such as name, address and email address.

2. Fill out the online application. Here individuals will provide information about the applicants' background, family, like income, household size, current health coverage information and more. This will help the Marketplace find options that meet the applicant's needs.

3. Compare your options. Here applicants will see all the options, including private insurance plans and free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The Marketplace will explain who qualifies "for lower costs on monthly premiums and out-of-pocked costs on deductibles, copayments and coinsurance," Experient Health wrote.

4. Enroll. After choosing a plan, applicants can enroll online and decide how to pay premiums to the insurance company.

Before starting the application, Experient Health suggests having social security numbers, employer and income information, policy numbers, and a complete worksheet called an “Employer Coverage Tool” in hand.

Some states run their own Marketplace. In other states, the Marketplace is run by the federal government.

Either way, applicants get the same access to all of the Marketplace coverage options.

In all states, there are people trained and certified to help applicants understand health coverage options and enroll in a plan. Though all will provide similar kinds of help, they will be known by different names (for example, navigators, application assisters or certified application counselors), depending on who provides the service and where they are located.

Insurance agents and brokers can also help you with your application and choices.

“The Marketplace website walks you step-by-step through the online health coverage application. It keeps track of where you are and guides you through to the end. If you have to stop your application and come back later, the Marketplace lets you re-start where you left off,” wrote Experient Health.

Useful information on each page explains the questions being asked, how much time each step might take and whether the applicant needs any forms or other documents.

"If you want life help while you apply, you can call the toll-free support center or chat with someone online," Experient Health wrote.

Applicants can also contact an Experient Health benefits consultant for assistance.

Read the full story at http://experientinsurance.com/2014/09/04/health-care-reform-enrolling-in-health-insurance-marketplace/. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.

Brand Name Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Canada Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld

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The expansion of Canadian's access to primary healthcare services will bolster demand for pharmaceuticals. For these reasons, industry research firm IBISWorld has added a report on the Brand Name Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry to its growing industry report collection.

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 21, 2014

Over the past five years, the patent cliff has enabled more generic drugs to inundate the market, thereby cutting into revenue growth for the Brand Name Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry. According to data from Industry Canada, the loss of patent protection for branded drugs has cost the industry $1.8 and $2.5 billion in 2010 and 2012, respectively. “In response to many blockbuster, brand-name drugs losing patent exclusivity, which has hampered revenue growth, many pharmaceutical manufacturers have streamlined their operations,” according to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Sarah Turk. For example, by forming networks with public or private companies and academic institutions, industry operators have been able to share research and development (R&D) costs. Further cutting into industry revenue growth, public health insurance (i.e. federally subsidized prescription plans) and private health insurance providers have attempted to bolster generic drug utilization rates to slash healthcare costs.

“In response to more Canadians using high-cost prescriptions, including oncology, biotechnology and specialty drugs, many provinces have implemented low prices for generic drugs, thus intensifying competition for the industry,” says Turk. For example, British Columbia has set generic prices at 20.0% of brand-name drug prices, which is the lowest price across all provinces and territories, thus demonstrating the trend of many provincial drug plans drastically cutting their generic drug prices. As a result, industry revenue is expected to decline at an annualized rate of 2.4% to $16.7 billion during the five years to 2014. However, in 2014, revenue is anticipated to rise 0.4%, thanks to many specialty drugs, such as biologics, increasingly characterizing pharmaceutical manufacturers' drug pipeline. Additionally, the expansion of Canadian's access to primary healthcare services will bolster demand for pharmaceuticals.

During the five years to 2019, industry revenue is forecast to grow. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers will focus their product portfolio on developing biologic drugs, particularly in oncology, autoimmune, antivirals, immunostimulants, immunosuppressants and multiple sclerosis.

For more information, visit IBISWorld’s Brand Name Pharmaceutical Manufacturing in Canada industry report page.

Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBISWorld
Friend IBISWorld on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBISWorld/121347533189

IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics

This industry develops prescription and over-the-counter products used to treat illnesses in humans and animals. Brand-name drugs have patent protection. This industry does not include nutritional supplement or cosmetics manufacturers.

Industry Performance
Executive Summary
Key External Drivers
Current Performance
Industry Outlook
Industry Life Cycle
Products & Markets
Supply Chain
Products & Services
Major Markets
Globalization & Trade
Business Locations
Competitive Landscape
Market Share Concentration
Key Success Factors
Cost Structure Benchmarks
Barriers to Entry
Major Companies
Operating Conditions
Capital Intensity
Key Statistics
Industry Data
Annual Change
Key Ratios

About IBISWorld Inc.
Recognized as the nation’s most trusted independent source of industry and market research, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every US and Canadian industry. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, the company equips clients with the insight necessary to make better business decisions. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.

It's Back To Normal In The Economy This Week — Here's Your Complete Preview

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It's Back To Normal In The Economy This Week — Here's Your Complete Preview Last week, Scotland voted to stay with the UK, Alibaba's massive IPO went off without a hitch, and Fed Chair Janet Yellen reminded us there would be "considerable time" between the end of quantitative easing and the beginning of rate hikes.

"Back to normal now," JP Morgan's Jan Loeys said.

Let's hope.

Here's your Monday Scouting Report:

*Top Stories*

· *Long Live King Dollar*: Despite the endless grumblings of Fed-haters who warned that easy monetary policy would destroy the US dollar and the US economy, the exact opposite has been occuring.

"The USD is up 2% in September, with gains vs. all currencies but CNY and on extraordinary volumes by some measures," JP Morgan's Loeys said. "The causes are mostly the same ones that have been in play since early August – a US economic upturn in the context of non-US disappointment (notably China, Japan and the Euro area); widening front-end rate spreads between USD and every major currency but GBP and AUD; and still-large current account imbalances in most of last year’s most vulnerable emerging markets like Brazil, South Africa, Turkey and Indonesia."

Morgan Stanley's Vincent Reinhart warns that a prolonged rally could do material damage to US exports. "Our simulations of a sustained, 10% upward shift in the broad trade-weighted USD indicate that relative to our baseline: Real GDP growth four quarters out could be reduced by roughly 0.5 percentage points. Core PCE could be lowered by 0.6 percentage points."

Charles Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders notes that there are significant benefits to having a stronger dollar including lower import prices, lower commodity prices, and cheaper foreign travel for Americans. Historical data shows that stocks booked significant gains during dollar bull markets.  "In general, a stronger dollar is likely to be both an economic and market positive."
· *In Scotland, It's Not Over*: On Thursday, Scottish voters headed to the polls. When the votes were counted, the tally came in 55% "No" and 45% "Yes."

"But that is not the end of the story," wrote Societe Generale analysts. "Not only do the details of devolution for Scotland have to be worked out but also the UK government has to address the demands for English devolution and to correct the imbalances of voting rights within the UK parliament. This will remain a challenging time for the government in the run-up to next May’s general election."

*Economic Calendar
*

· Existing Home Sales (Mon): Economists estimate the pace of sales climbed 1.0% to an annualized rate of 5.20 million units. "Existing home sales have been on an upward trajectory after falling steadily since the third quarter of last year," said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists whor forecast a 1.0% decline. "Although pending home sales increased in July, this followed a decline in June, showing signs of weakness. Moreover, mortgage purchas e applications declined in July and August. While we are forecasting a decline in sales in August, we think sales will resume an uptrend for the remainder of the year."
· FHFA House Price Index (Tues): Economists estimate house prices climbed by 0.5% in July. "We look for the FHFA Home Price Index to rise 0.5% m/m in July, consistent with the behavior of other home price indices during the same time period," Barclays economists said. "This would translate into a y/y increase of 4.8%."
· Markit US Manufacturing PMI (Tues): Economists estimate the preliminary read on this manufacturing index will come in at 58.0, up from 57.9 in August.
· Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index (Tues): Economists estimate this regional manufacturing index slipped to 10 in September from 12 in August.
· New Home Sales (Wed): Economists estimate the pace of sales increased 4.4% to an annualized rate of 430,000 units. "The NAHB housing survey reported an improvement in housing demand and buyer traffic in late summer," Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists said. "This should help to reduce months supply, which popped to 6 months in July — the highest since late 2011."
· Initial Jobless Claims (Thurs): Economists estimate claims climbed to 298,000 from 280,000 a week ago. "The four-week moving average of initial claims has drifted in a very narrow range of 295-305k over the past nine weeks, suggesting continuing but gradual improvement in the labor market," Nomura economists said.
· Durable Good Orders (Thurs): Economists estimate orders dropped 18.0% in August after July unusual 22.6% jump. Nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft is estimated to have climbed by 0.4%. "A 317% spike in civilian aircraft and parts orders accounted for most of a record 22.6% rise in durable goods orders in July, as Boeing booked a record 327 airplane orders," Morgan Stanley's Ted Wieseman said. "That will see some normalization in coming months, but the 107 orders Boeing booked in August was actually quite strong for an August, well above 16 in August 2013 and 1 in August 2012, so we look for only a partial pullback this month. Meanwhile, indications for equipment demand have generally remained positive, including upside in regional Fed surveys’ capex plans in August, so we look for renewed upside in core capital goods orders following a bit of a pullback in July (-0.7%) after a sharp gain in June (+5.4%)."
· Markit Services PMI (Thurs): Economists estimate the preliminary read on this services index will come in at 59.2, down from 59.5 in August.
· Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Activity (Thurs): Economists estimated this regional manufacturing index climbed to 6 in September from 3 in August.
· GDP (Fri): Economist estimate Q2 GDP will be revised up to 4.6% from an earlier estimate of 4.2%. "Strong results for healthcare revenues in the Census Bureau’s quarterly services survey (QSS) point to a sizable upward revision to healthcare services consumption in Q2, boosting overall consumption to 3.2% from 2.5% and GDP to 4.8% from 4.2%," Morgan Stanley's Wieseman said. "That’s the reverse of what happened after the Q1 QSS, when BEA had to slash real healthcare services consumption to -1% from +9% in the second revision, cutting a point from GDP growth, after a surprising decline in Q1 healthcare revenues in the QSS despite about 9 million more people with health insurance coverage this year."
· University Of Michigan Confidence (Fri): Economists estimate this index of sentiment climbed to 84.7 in September. "Gasoline prices have decreased in recent weeks, suggesting consumer confidence confidence should continue to advance from a strong preliminary reading to reach a post-recession high," Barclays economists said.

*Market Commentary*

"Stay bullish into year-end," Wall Street strategist Tom Lee writes. "We see multi-year gains ahead for US equities, driven by the favorable combination of: (i) pent-up demand; (ii) repaired household, corporate, and bank balance sheets; (iii) attractive relative value for stocks and (iv) low conviction by investors."

Lee, founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, told Business Insider that the S&P 500 could got to "2,700 or higher" before the bull market ends.

For more insight about the middle market, visit mid-marketpulse.com.

*SEE ALSO: The 27 Scariest Moments Of The Financial Crisis*

Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 22 hours ago.

America's Richest States: 24/7 Wall St.

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The United States added more than 2.3 million jobs in 2013, the most in any year since 2005. Despite this, income levels and poverty rates did not improve in most of the United States last year, according to recently released figures from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

While many American households continue to struggle to make ends meet, those in the richest states continued to earn far more than households in the poorest states. Maryland was the wealthiest state in the U.S. again last year, with a median income of $72,483. Mississippi, in turn, was yet again America’s poorest state, with a median income of just $37,963.

Click here to see the richest states in America.

Click here to see the poorest states in America.

States with relatively low median incomes typically had poverty rates that were much higher than the national rate. In fact, all but one of the nation’s 10 poorest states also had among the 10 highest poverty rates. Mississippi, the nation’s poorest state, had a poverty rate of 24% last year, the highest in the nation. By comparison, when surveyed, 15.8% of Americans said they lived below the poverty line at some point in the last 12 months.

One of the most important determinants of income is employment because most Americans rely on their jobs as their largest source of income. Several states with high incomes also had low unemployment rates. These include Hawaii, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, all of which had unemployment rates that were at least two percentage points below the national unemployment rate of 7.4% in 2013. But this was not the case in all high income states. California, for instance, had an unemployment rate of 8.9% last year, among the highest in the country.

A strong labor force matters, David Cooper, economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, told 24/7 Wall St. When the labor market improves, “that tends to disproportionately help low income folks,” Cooper said. “When there’s less unemployment, when employers are maybe having to raise wages in order to attract new workers.”

Still, unemployment rates do not tell the full story. In fact, by some measures, the job market remains distressed. The total number of jobs only surpassed pre-recession levels this year. Also, the percentage of Americans in the workforce — either working or looking for work — has fallen considerably since the recession.

The types of jobs available in a state also play a major role in determining income levels. For example, low-paying manufacturing jobs as well as jobs in the retail sector were generally more common in states with low median incomes. In the nation’s richest states, by contrast, high-paying jobs in the financial, information, and professional services sectors were more common.

Cooper added that “there are good jobs and bad jobs,” and that clearly some industries pay better than others. “Obviously, things like the sciences, and information technology, health care. Those tend to be sectors that pay better,” he noted. One major reason for this, Cooper said, is the educational background need for such jobs. Residents in the nation’s richest states

Although wealthy states tend to have lower poverty rates, they don’t necessarily have the most equitable distribution of income. In fact, the distribution of incomes was especially imbalanced in a number of the wealthiest states. California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, all among the states with the highest incomes, were each among the states with the most top-heavy income distributions.

The states with the lowest incomes, however, also did not perform especially well in income equality. Notably, Louisiana, which had a median household income more than $6,000 below the U.S. median, was also the third-worst state for income inequality.

To identify the richest and poorest states with the highest and lowest median household income, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed state data on income from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey (ACS). Median household income for all years is adjusted for inflation. Data on health insurance coverage, employment by industry, food stamp recipiency, poverty, and income inequality also came from the 2013 ACS. Income inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient, which is scaled from 0 to 1, with 0 representing perfect equality and 1 representing perfect inequality. We also reviewed annual average unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for 2012 and 2013.

These are America’s richest and poorest states: Reported by Huffington Post 22 hours ago.

United States: HIPAA One Year Later: Is Your Law Firm Complying? - The McLane Law Firm

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Since it was enacted in 1996, discussion and confusion concerning the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") has been ongoing. Reported by Mondaq 9 hours ago.

Are You Still Paying Your Babysitter Under the Table?

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Are You Still Paying Your Babysitter Under the Table? Filed under: Personal Finance, Budgeting Tools, Elder Care, Home Health Care, Planning

*Getty Images*

If you've been paying your babysitter or other household worker in cash, you just might be the unassuming neighborhood evader of what's nicknamed the "nanny tax," which also applies to babysitters, housekeepers, private nurses and gardeners.

Don't panic just yet. If you pay a household worker less than $1,900 per year, you qualify for what's called the "casual babysitting exemption."

But $1,900 per year can be a very low threshold, especially if you live in a big city like New York. My 17-year-old stepdaughter's standard hourly rate for babysitting is $12, but she lives in laid-back San Diego. I wouldn't be surprised if parents on the Upper East Side of Manhattan routinely pay $20 or more, especially to caregivers older than 18.

Let's do the math. If the annual exemption threshold is $1,900 and you're paying $20 per hour, that's less than two hours a week of care before you cross the line. Leaving the kids with the sitter to dine out with your spouse one night a week could end up costing you well more than two orders of pad Thai and a large Singha if you pay under the table and the Internal Revenue Service catches you.

*Getting Caught and Being Penalized*

How would the IRS catch you? These two are the most common ways, especially when considering nannies and other employees who work full-time or close to full-time:

· If your employee files for unemployment benefits after her employment with you ends.
· If your employee retires and applies for Social Security and Medicare benefits.

If your former employee provides her work history to state or federal agencies to collect benefits, the gig is up. By not accepting your duties and obligations as a household employer, not only are you hurting your former employee's ability to obtain these important government benefits, you are also setting yourself up for fines, penalties, back taxes and interest. In certain cases, penalties can include losing professional licenses, which should make lawyers, accountants, doctors and dentists particularly attentive to this issue. Aspiring government officials and politicians have also lost out.

Consider current employees, too. If they want to qualify for health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Ac, they need to have a record of verifiable income.

*What the IRS Says*

Think you can classify your nanny as an independent contract and avoid all the fuss? Think again. IRS Publication 926 states who is and isn't considered an employee, and in nearly all cases nannies are considered employees. When you are a household employer, you have obligations to withhold and pay taxes. The employer contribution includes Social Security, Medicare, federal unemployment and state unemployment taxes. The employee withholding includes Social Security and Medicare and sometimes federal, state and city income taxes.

Companies such as Care.com can calculate the numbers and process all the paperwork. According to Tom Breedlove, director of the site's HomePay service, "For many families, the available tax breaks will offset most if not all of the employer's tax cost and families can come out ahead." If your employer offers a Flexible Spending Account, you can pay for some or all the care using pre-tax dollars. Many families might also be eligible for the Child and Dependent Care tax credit. Referring to the available tax credits, Breedlove notes, "What we find is that people are almost always pleasantly surprised."

Let's say I live in Southern California and I'm a telecommuting employee of a corporation who has to travel to the physical office one day a week. I hire an adult babysitter who stays at my house with my toddler for eight hours every Monday. I have two choices: I can pay her in cash under the table at $10 per hour (or $80 per week) or I can leverage government tax breaks and my company-provided FSA and pay her legally. According to Care.com's HomePay calculator, I can maintain my $80 per week budget by setting her gross pay at $95 a week. I pay $10 in taxes, $17 to Care.com HomePay for providing the payroll, filing and related services, and receive $42 in tax breaks. Instead of earning $10 per hour, my babysitter earns $9.55 per hour. That's pretty close.

*The $6,864 Question*

What about a couple who needs more care? Let's say I live in Brooklyn, and my husband and I need three days of care a week (eight hours a day) for our two small children. If we have a budget of $500 per week for care but neither my company nor my spouse's offers an FSA, according to the calculator, I'll be able to pay her $15.34 an hour legally. If I pay her under the table at $15.34 per hour, it will cost me $368 a week -- much less than $500.

The $132 a week difference adds up to $6,864 annually. It's up to you if you want to take the risk of being caught, but the law is the law. Besides, Breedlove advises that recently passed and pending federal and state legislation, such as New York's Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, is raising awareness of household employer's obligations among employers and domestic workers.

So the next time you interview a potential babysitter or any type of household worker, you might be surprised to find that he or she wants to be put on your payroll.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by DailyFinance 9 hours ago.

Companies’ health costs are increasing at a slower clip. Question is, will that continue?

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A steady rise in health insurance costs appears to be slowing down for business owners. But with several important changes still looming under the health care law, it’s unclear whether that will continue in the years ahead. Reported by Washington Post 8 hours ago.

The Advocator Group, LLC Announces Partnership with Pharmacy Savings Program RxCut®

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Social Security Disability and Medicare Advocacy Firm is Pleased to Offer Prescription Savings Cards to Clients Through RxCut®

Wakefield, MA (PRWEB) September 22, 2014

The Advocator Group, LLC—The Advocator Group, LLC is pleased to announce its partnership with the RxCut® pharmacy savings program, which will make discounted prescriptions available to the company’s clients and employees. The company looks forward to offering prescription savings cards to its valued clients, thereby adding to the ways in which they deliver on the goal to guide clients when life changes.

Powered by Free For All® Inc., the RxCut® pharmacy savings card offers prescription discounts of up to eighty-five percent on prescriptions that qualify for the program to people throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The program does not require health insurance or enrollment fees to receive a prescription savings card, and cardholders are able to share their card with friends or family members. These discount cards will help clients of The Advocator Group to potentially reduce their monthly pharmacy costs while they are faced with the challenges of limited income and waiting for disability benefits and subsequent Medicare coverage to become available.

“We are thrilled to partner with RxCut®,” states Julie Turpin, CEO of The Advocator Group. “We appreciate their approach to educating and caring for individuals in need of assistance. Our clients are often on heavy treatment regimens, requiring multiple costly prescriptions that must be refilled regularly. This partnership allows us to provide our clients with access to discounts on RxCut® program qualified prescriptions during a crucial time when they are transitioning onto a fixed disability benefit.”

Gerard Ferro, co-founder and CEO of Free For All® Inc. stated, “I am pleased to partner with The Advocator Group in their mission to provide support to disabled individuals who are struggling to afford the care that they need due to loss of income. As medication costs continue to increase, I am excited that their efforts to walk alongside their clients can now be enhanced by the addition of our program, which of offers access to discounts on valuable medications.”

By partnering with RxCut® and providing their clients with free access to discounts on their prescription medications, The Advocator Group continues to deliver on its promise to provide its clients with phenomenal service. For more information about RxCut® and the prescriptions savings card, visit http://www.rxcut.com/advocator.

For more information about the RxCut® prescription savings cards, or to request a card, please email rxcard(at)advocator.com.

RxCut® and The Advocator Group are independent companies and provide no guarantee or warranty as to the services or goods offered by the other party.

ABOUT THE ADVOCATOR GROUP – The Advocator Group, LLC is a nationwide advocacy organization dedicated to helping individuals apply for and obtain Social Security Disability Insurance. In addition, The Advocator Group assists Medicare beneficiaries in identifying the best coverage possible for their unique needs. The Advocator Group’s team of experienced Social Security and Medicare advocates ensures that each client is provided phenomenal service while each case receives close attention. The company’s core values include humility, integrity, commitment, optimism, learning and creativity. For more information, visit http://www.advocator.com.

### Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.

Colorado HealthOP Offers Lowest “Silver” Insurance Rates in Colorado

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DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Colorado’s Division of Insurance (DOI) today released the official 2015 health insurance rates, and Colorado HealthOP will have the lowest rates for the popular, mid-level “Silver” plans in nearly all regions across the state. Listed under its legal name, Colorado Health Insurance Cooperative, Inc., Colorado HealthOP’s rates overall will be an average of 10 percent lower than they were in 2014. As an example, a 25-year-old in Denver would pay $173 a month for a Silver E Reported by Business Wire 7 hours ago.

More Proof That Anti-Obamacare States Desperately Need Obamacare

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In a lot of big urban areas where a large share of residents lack health insurance, help isn't on the way.

Seven of the 11 large metro areas where the uninsured rate was higher than the 14.5 percent national average last year are located in states that refused to expand to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Two are in Florida, three are in Texas, and the others are Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. The metro area with the highest uninsured rate was Miami, at a staggering 25 percent, compared to the national low of 4 percent in greater Boston.

Here's a breakdown of the biggest metropolitan areas' uninsured rates before the Obamacare coverage expansion began, courtesy of figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau this week.

The Affordable Care Act called for Medicaid benefits to be available to anyone earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is about $11,500 for a single person this year. Twenty-six percent of people with incomes in this range were uninsured last year, the Census reported.

To date, 23 states, mostly Southern, haven't adopted the expansion, despite generous federal funding. When the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act in 2012, justices also ruled the Medicaid expansion was optional for states.

What makes matters worse for the people left out of the Medicaid expansion is that another part of the Obamacare law permits only people who earn at least poverty wages to get financial help paying for private health insurance -- so those who earn less get nothing.

According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, those decisions not to expand the program will leave 4.8 million people uninsured. More than 1 million of them live in Texas, 764,000 are in Florida, 409,000 are Georgia residents and 319,000 live in North Carolina.

Four other large metro areas that the Census Bureau reported had higher-than-average uninsured rates are in states that expanded Medicaid this year: Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside, California, and Phoenix, Arizona.

In a survey published in July, the Commonwealth Fund found that the states that expanded Medicaid saw a combined drop in the uninsured rate for people with incomes below poverty from 28 percent to 17 percent after the first round of Obamacare enrollment. In the states that didn't, the share without health coverage was 36 percent -- barely changed from before.

A Gallup-Healthways survey from August also revealed wide variation between Obamacare's effect on the uninsured rate between states that cooperated with the law's implementation, such as by expanding Medicaid, and those that didn't. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

As Open Enrollment Date Approaches, Medical Insurance Advocate Adria Gross Alerts Policyholders on How to Get Health Insurers to Pay More Claims

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CEO of Medical Insurance Advocacy Firm Advises Individuals to Explore How Initial Claim was Prepared and Filed, and to Understand What is Covered in Their Health Plans

Monroe, NY (PRWEB) September 22, 2014

Open enrollment for medical insurance plans starts on November 15, 2014 for individuals and families, and many Americans will shop the market for the best health coverage. However, as many people discover with their health plans, there is a strong possibility the insurance company will look for a way to reject a claim. Adria Gross of http://medwisebilling.com Medical Insurance Advocacy , a division of Medwise Billing, Inc. advises patients that when they receive a claim rejection, to carefully review their explanations of benefits to make sure the health care providers have properly filed the claim.

“The more that people understand about how the medical insurance system works, and the recourse they have, the more success they will have in getting the health coverage and medical reimbursements they deserve,” said Gross, who assists patients and attorneys with securing just and proper healthcare benefits from insurance carriers. “With the new enrollment period about to start, it’s important that individuals really understand what all these plans cover and how to best work with the insurance company in order to avoid huge, unexpected out-of-pocket expenses.”

Gross has nearly 25 years of experience in the insurance field and has helped clients recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreimbursed medical expenses or reduced clients’ medical bills since starting her company in 2012. She offers several important tips on how to reduce the odds that a health insurance claim will be rejected, and what to do in case that happens.· Understand your medical insurance policy. Know in advance what is considered non-emergency medical care, what you will pay for unusual or out-of-the-ordinary treatments, and which providers are in network and out of network. Read your benefits manual and ask questions.

· Get preauthorization from your insurer. For medical procedures that are beyond a typical office visit, get the go-ahead from the insurance company first to avoid huge out-of-pocket expenses or bureaucratic runaround. Have this preauthorization sent to you in writing to prevent the insurer from later denying your claim.

· Ask your doctor to submit a letter. If your insurer will not preauthorize a procedure, do not assume this rejection is final. Ask your doctor to submit a letter to the insurer explaining why the procedure is required in your case.

· Be persistent. If preauthorization is again denied, ask your doctor to try again, this time describing your health situation and the necessity of the procedure in greater detail. Insurers often back down when patients and doctors persist.

If a medical claim has been rejected, Gross advises not to pay it right away but rather, investigate why the insurer did not cover it the first time. Several issues may be in play:

· Incorrect billing codes. An incorrect procedure or diagnostic code by the healthcare provider will get the claim kicked out. If this is the case, ask the provider’s billing department to resubmit the bill to your insurer with the correct codes.

· Billed under the wrong insurance policy. Confirm that the policy number and/or group number on the paperwork corresponds with your current policy and if not, have the billing office resubmit the claim correctly.

· The insurer continues billing you after you’ve met your deductible and/or out-of-pocket maximum. Keep a file each year of your medical bills and your explanations of benefits (EOBs) to track your expenses. Compare your records against those of the insurer and find out why its tally doesn’t match yours. Keep in mind that the insurer may not count the full amounts charged by out-of-network providers.

When a medical claim is denied, Gross offers these steps that individuals can perform on their own or hire a medical insurance advocate to do for them.

· Get on the phone. If it is not clear why the insurer rejected a claim, call the customer service department and ask for a clear explanation of why. Ask to speak to a supervisor if you don’t agree with or understand the answer, or call back repeatedly until you get a representative who will explain it clearly. Document your calls and take notes.

Individuals under group coverage should contact their plan administrator or human resources representative for negotiating assistance.

· Contact your Department of Aging or similar agency if you are age 65 or older, to request assistance if you cannot get resolution on your own.

· Ask your state’s Department of Insurance for guidance. Often the regulators are very aggressive and helpful in getting insurers that are licensed by the state to pay—sometimes with interest.

If someone is unable to manage this process, Gross suggests hiring a claims-assistance professional. Professionals are listed on the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants website (NAHAC.com) or the Alliance of Claims Assistance Professionals (Claims.org).

“A professional medical insurance advocate understands state insurance laws and policy details and will make all contacts up the insurance and, if necessary, legislative chain,” explained Gross. “Advocates relieve the stress of this process by working with the insurance company to get your legitimate claims covered and get the reimbursements you deserve, or negotiate down your medical bills with the billing departments and insurance companies.”

For more information about how an insurance advocate works for the services offered by MedWise Insurance Advocacy, visit http://medicalinsuranceadvocacy.com Medwise Insurance Advocacy or call Adria Gross at (845) 238-2532.
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About Adria Gross

Adria Gross is CEO of MedWise Billing, Inc. a medical billing and credentialing firm that works with healthcare providers; and its subsidiary, Medwise Insurance Advocacy, a medical-billing advocacy company that assists health insurance customers in disputes with their insurers. She supports individuals and their families, and elder law and personal injury attorneys on medical claim matters. Gross previously worked as a claims examiner with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and American International Group. For more information visit http://medwisebilling.com MedWiseBilling.com. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.

Allred Insurance to Open New Burlington Branch Office

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Don Allred Insurance is pleased to announce the scheduled opening of a new branch office in Burlington, NC.

(PRWEB) September 22, 2014

Don Allred Insurance is pleased to announce the scheduled opening of a new branch office in Burlington, NC. The satellite office, located in the Holly Hill Mall on Huffman Mill Road, will begin operations on October 15, 2014, and offer all of the same professional services as the main Allred location on South Church Street.

Allred Insurance spokesperson Scott Allred cites an expanding client base and the desire to provide convenient hours of availability as two of the major factors driving the decision to open a new branch.

“To put it simply, we’ve outgrown our main offices and need the additional space to accommodate the overflow of agents and clients,” Mr. Allred explains. “We selected Holly Hill Mall as an ideal location for a second office because we want to give clients the opportunity to stop by at convenient times, such as after work or on weekends, when our main office might be closed.”

Towards that end, business hours for the Allred Insurance Holly Hill Mall branch will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday to Thursday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday; and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Moreover, no appointment is necessary to consult with an agent at this location. Walk-ins are welcome at any time.

At the Holly Hill Mall branch, new and existing Allred clients will have access to the comprehensive auto, homeowners, commercial, life, and health insurance services currently available through the main office. “Anyone can come in for a consultation, compare insurance plans, or get quotes,” Mr. Allred says. “They can also purchase healthcare policies through one of our Medicare Advantage partners, which for 2015 include Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, Humana, United Healthcare, and Aetna.”

Mr. Allred also wishes to stress the fact that his firm still enjoys a strong partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC. “Although we are no longer exclusive with BCBS, we are not ending our business ties with them,” Mr. Allred says. “Our decision to team up with additional partners was ultimately based on the desire to serve the best interests of our clients by giving them multiple options when choosing a healthcare insurance provider. Otherwise, we value the longstanding partnership we have had with BCBS and look forward to another great year together in 2015.”

For more information about the new Don Allred Insurance satellite office or about the firm’s menu of insurance services, please visit http://www.allredinsurance.com. Reported by PRWeb 5 hours ago.

Three Ways To Save During Open Enrollment

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How to take action right now to save on health insurance during the open enrollment period. Reported by msnbc.com 4 hours ago.

Big Insurance Companies Won't Be Big Insurance Companies Much Longer. Here's Why

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As I wrote last week, one of the nation's biggest employers -- Boeing -- is pioneering a concept in providing health care benefits to its employees that eliminates insurance companies as middlemen.

What Boeing is doing represents a seismic shift in health care financing and delivery that potentially will have more far-reaching effects than Obamacare, primarily because it is coming from the private sector, not the government. It is a shift that the big health insurers have been anticipating and preparing for since long before the Affordable Care Act was enacted.

We tend to think that insurers with well-known brands like Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare have been around forever and likely will always be with us as they are currently structured.

But the large corporations dominating the health insurance landscape bear little resemblance to the companies they were when they first appeared on the scene. Their current metamorphosis is just a continuation of a corporate evolution.

I'm not suggesting they will disappear, but I am willing to bet that in a few years, they will not be providing our health insurance coverage -- at least in the way they do now. Instead, they will have transformed into companies that make most if not all of their profits in non-insurance lines of businesses.

You only have to look back a few decades to see just how dramatically the big insurers remade themselves as a result of pressure from both Wall Street and the marketplace.

Take Humana, where I used to work, as an example. Humana began as a nursing home company in 1961. When I joined the company 27 years later, it had sold all of its nursing homes and become the world's largest hospital company. A few years later, it sold all of its hospitals and became Humana the managed care company.

I left Humana to join Cigna in 1993. Cigna, which started out as a fire and marine insurance company, had by then morphed into one of the world's largest multi-line insurance companies. Its peers were Aetna -- which initially was just a life insurer -- MetLife, Prudential and Travelers. All were selling health insurance by this time. But within a year or so after I joined Cigna, Wall Street decided that multi-line insurers were dinosaurs and insisted that the companies divest some of their businesses so they could focus on just one or two.

MetLife, Prudential and Travelers all sold their health care business and Aetna and Cigna decided to get out of the property and casualty business to focus on health care.

Over just the last 25 years, all of these companies had changed dramatically to concentrate on businesses that were deemed to be more profitable than other business lines that once defined them.

As for UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint, few people had even heard of them 25 years ago. But thanks to cash generated by the divestiture of their original non-insurance businesses, they were able to buy their way into managed care. They quickly ballooned in size to become the nation's largest health insurers.

Now that the profit margins of those big companies' core health insurance businesses are under intense pressure because of Obamacare and changes in the marketplace, you can rest assured that their top executives are at work on new transformation blueprints.

If you look at their websites, you'll be hard pressed to even find the word "insurance." They all are in the process of redefining their missions -- and looking outside of the U.S. for new opportunities. Rather than describing what they sell in any explicit way, they use vague language that seeks to describe what they have become or aspire to be and do.

Humana says its primary focus "is on the well-being of its members." Aetna says it is "transforming health care to create healthier communities, a healthier nation and a healthier world." How? By "creatively destroying the current business model to enable a new one," said CEO Mark Bertolini at a health care technology conference earlier this year.

Cigna CEO David Cordani says his team "is proud to serve as a catalyst for change in the more than 30 countries in which we operate around the world."

According to UnitedHealth Group's website, it is "the most diversified health care company in the United States and a leader worldwide in helping people live healthier lives..."

WellPoint says it is "working to transform health care with trusted and caring solutions."

Even the nonprofit Blue Cross plans are reinventing themselves. Florida's largest insurer, Florida Blue, earlier this month unveiled its new corporate parent, GuideWell. Said CEO Pat Geraghty at the Medifuture conference in Tampa: "We're not here to be the best plan in Florida. We're here to be the best health solutions company in the United States."

What all of those companies' executives understand is that if profit margins are to be maintained in the post-Obamacare world, finding greener pastures has once again become a necessity. Reported by Huffington Post 28 minutes ago.

Big Insurance Companies Won't be Big Insurance Companies Much Longer. Here's Why

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0
As I wrote last week, one of the nation's biggest employers -- Boeing -- is pioneering a concept in providing health care benefits to its employees that eliminates insurance companies as middlemen.

What Boeing is doing represents a seismic shift in health care financing and delivery that potentially will have more far-reaching effects than Obamacare, primarily because it is coming from the private sector, not the government. It is a shift that the big health insurers have been anticipating and preparing for since long before the Affordable Care Act was enacted.

We tend to think that insurers with well-known brands like Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare have been around forever and likely will always be with us as they are currently structured.

But the large corporations dominating the health insurance landscape bear little resemblance to the companies they were when they first appeared on the scene. Their current metamorphosis is just a continuation of a corporate evolution.

I'm not suggesting they will disappear, but I am willing to bet that in a few years, they will not be providing our health insurance coverage -- at least in the way they do now. Instead, they will have transformed into companies that make most if not all of their profits in non-insurance lines of businesses.

You only have to look back a few decades to see just how dramatically the big insurers remade themselves as a result of pressure from both Wall Street and the marketplace.

Take Humana, where I used to work, as an example. Humana began as a nursing home company in 1961. When I joined the company 27 years later, it had sold all of its nursing homes and become the world's largest hospital company. A few years later, it sold all of its hospitals and became Humana the managed care company.

I left Humana to join Cigna in 1993. Cigna, which started out as a fire and marine insurance company, had by then morphed into one of the world's largest multi-line insurance companies. Its peers were Aetna -- which initially was just a life insurer -- MetLife, Prudential and Travelers. All were selling health insurance by this time. But within a year or so after I joined Cigna, Wall Street decided that multi-line insurers were dinosaurs and insisted that the companies divest some of their businesses so they could focus on just one or two.

MetLife, Prudential and Travelers all sold their health care business and Aetna and Cigna decided to get out of the property and casualty business to focus on health care.

Over just the last 25 years, all of these companies had changed dramatically to concentrate on businesses that were deemed to be more profitable than other business lines that once defined them.

As for UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint, few people had even heard of them 25 years ago. But thanks to cash generated by the divestiture of their original non-insurance businesses, they were able to buy their way into managed care. They quickly ballooned in size to become the nation's largest health insurers.

Now that the profit margins of those big companies' core health insurance businesses are under intense pressure because of Obamacare and changes in the marketplace, you can rest assured that their top executives are at work on new transformation blueprints.

If you look at their websites, you'll be hard pressed to even find the word "insurance." They all are in the process of redefining their missions--and looking outside of the U.S. for new opportunities. Rather than describing what they sell in any explicit way, they use vague language that seeks to describe what they have become or aspire to be and do.

Humana says its primary focus "is on the well-being of its members." Aetna says it is "transforming health care to create healthier communities, a healthier nation and a healthier world." How? By "creatively destroying the current business model to enable a new one," said CEO Mark Bertolini at a health care technology conference earlier this year.

Cigna CEO David Cordani says his team "is proud to serve as a catalyst for change in the more than 30 countries in which we operate around the world."

According to UnitedHealth Group's website, it is "the most diversified health care company in the United States and a leader worldwide in helping people live healthier lives..."

WellPoint says it is "working to transform health care with trusted and caring solutions."

Even the nonprofit Blue Cross plans are reinventing themselves. Florida's largest insurer, Florida Blue, earlier this month unveiled its new corporate parent, GuideWell. Said CEO Pat Geraghty at the Medifuture conference in Tampa: "We're not here to be the best plan in Florida. We're here to be the best health solutions company in the United States."

What all of those companies' executives understand is that if profit margins are to be maintained in the post-Obamacare world, finding greener pastures has once again become a necessity. Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.

30,000 Californians face Obamacare enrollment delays, dropped coverage

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California's health insurance exchange is vowing to fix enrollment delays and dropped coverage for about 30,000 consumers before the next sign-up period this fall. Reported by L.A. Times 2 hours ago.
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