Small Business Health Insurance Tax Credit

Health Care Reform provides immediate benefits for Small Business Owners.

If you a small business or tax-exempt organization that pays at least half the cost of single health insurance coverage for your employees, you may qualify for a new tax credit. The new small business health care tax credit is effective now as part of the Affordable Care Act, which became law earlier this year.

Are you eligible?

The credit is targeted to help employers with low and moderate income workers afford to offer employees health insurance coverage. Generally, employers that have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and pay wages averaging less than $50,000 per employee per year may qualify for the credit. Because the eligibility formula is based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, employers that have more than 25 individual workers may also qualify if some of their workers are part-time.

How much is the tax credit?

For each year from 2010 through 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small businesses and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible tax-exempt organizations. An enhanced version of the credit will be effective beginning in 2014.

When can I claim the credit?

Small businesses can claim the credit as part of the general business credit starting with the 2010 income tax return they file in 2011. Tax-exempt employers can expect additional information in the coming months on how to claim the credit. Find out more about the credit and how to claim it at www.IRS.gov

If you are paying too much for your small group health insurance plan, receive a free instant health insurance quote online or call (800) 783-0802

Disability Insurance is your friend

A disability insurance policy is no more than a promise to pay, whether you become too sick or injured to work.

No matter how healthy you are today, you are still vulnerable to a disability caused by an unexpected illness or accident. Your ability to earn an income is considered your most important asset - not your home, boat or investments. If your income suddenly stopped, how would you maintain your household? Who would make those retirement contributions? Without an income, you would most likely sell or liquidate your other assets.

You are probably better prepared for death than for disability, however your chances of becoming disabled are much greater. The odds or the probability of Death vs. Disability * for every 1,000 people before age 65 is noted below.

Male Age 30 / 225 deaths / 331 disabilities
Male Age 40 / 218 deaths / 291 disabilities

Female Age 30 / 162 deaths / 566 disabilities
Female Age 40 / 148 deaths / 452 disabilities

* A long term disability lasting 90 days or more

If you think you can rely on others, you can't. Social security offers only limited benefits and 57% of all initial claims are denied. Group Coverage (if you have it) is not portable if you change companies. Benefits are also limited. Workman's Comp offers limited benefits, however you must be injured on the job. Do you have enough savings to support yourself for the rest of your life? You are unable to borrow money because your income has stopped. Will your assets be sold at fair market price or will you be forced to liquidate? Even then will you have enough money to support yourself or family?

The only way to protect your income, family and personal dignity is to own a personal disability income protection plan, aka Disability Insurance Plan. Qualified insurance specialists can assist you in designing a plan to meet your needs. Plan on spending 1.5 to 3% of your income for a quality disability insurance policy. Terms vary from company to company, so compare products carefully. QuoteBroker represents multiple insurance carriers and can provide you with an unbiased approach to selecting the best plan for your particular needs.

More technical information will be published soon.

Study indicates "middle class" underinsured

A new health insurance study finds; "middle class" families are underinsured and most vulnerable to medical bankruptcy.

In a recent study, the Commonwealth Fund reports that one in every five adults under age 65, or approximately 25 million Americans did not have sufficient health insurance to protect them from financial hardship. Despite having health insurance, these individuals were "underinsured" and after experiencing a serious medical condition or treatment, their out of pocket expenses averaged 10% of their income. (10% being the benchmark number to determine underinsured). These additional expenses were not only due to the higher cost of insurance premiums, but also combined with the growing number of health insurance plans that require patients to pay a higher percentage of their medical bills; usually through higher deductibles or patient co-payment charges.

The countries medical crisis continues with over 50 million people being uninsured and 25 million people underinsured. Both groups forgo routine health screenings and often do not take their prescriptions as needed or at all.

With the increasing number of online resources available to locate affordable health insurance, it is recommended that you compare your policy and plan features against your current insurance company offerings each 6 - 9 months. As more and more individuals receive online insurance quotes, insurance companies are updating their insurance portfolio's cycles more often to remain competitive.

The secret to buying Delta Dental Premier and PPO plans

Most self employed individuals and seniors seeking Delta Dental Insurance are limited to buying individual plans that are DMO's - Dental Maintainance Organization plans. Like medical HMO's, DMO's often have limited dental network and it is highly unlikely your dentist will be on that list. If your dentist accepts Delta Dental Insurance coverage, he/she is most likely referring to Delta Premier, which is offered to employer groups.

There is an answer to this problem and it is a little known secret called "Dental for Everyone" offered by Quotebroker. Here, individuals, association members and seniors may "coat tail" a larger association group plan offering coverage, which is administered by a third party and underwritten by Delta Dental.

The Dental for Everyone plan allows you to select either the Delta Dental Premier or PPO plan. Through this program vision insurance is also included (separate from Delta) For more information visit DENTAL FOR EVERYONE.

Visit Quotebroker for affordable health insurance, dental coverage and other quality products for individuals, association members and employer groups.

How to buy insurance without an agent

When it comes to buying health insurance, most people don't want to think about it. The last thing we have time for is to meet and entertain a train of insurance agents across our kitchen table. Possibly the person we meet is a friend of a friend or an office referral. This person usually represents a 'primary insurance company' that he/she will try to push you to buy, or after showing some resistance or hesitation, the agent reaches into his briefcase and offers another lower cost insurance product. We then blindly make the insurance purchase without really never knowing if we bought a good insurance program or if we are over paying for coverage. Often buyers remorse sets in, but we can't imagine interviewing a string of new agents. We settle for what we bought until a claim is made and our insurance program doesn't offer that key benefit that we thought was included.

You use the web for reading email, staying up to date with current events and researching your child's homework assignment, why not buy insurance online?

Online insurance brokerage firms, such as QuoteBroker offer you the same technology insurance companies use to compare their plan offerings against their competition. Within a matter of minutes you can easily shop the insurance market place and locate the best program for your family or business. QuoteBroker's insurance quoting system allows you to easily compare insurance products offered by America's finest companies, all competing for your business. This unbiased approach to insurance buying will provide you with the tools and information you need to make an intelligent insurance buying decision. In less than 5 minutes, you can shop, begin comparing plans and start an application online - at your convenience. In addition, if you need help selecting a plan or completing any necessary paperwork, Quotebroker offers a toll fee number for you to speak with a licensed insurance specialist.

Before you invite another sales agent into your home or office, consider shopping online to locate affordable health insurance , term life, or dental protection.

Why is my association health insurance plan so expensive?

You may have already received a sizeable premium increase notice and you are confused about what options are available to you.

A frequent question that we receive is "Why is my Association Health Plan so Expensive?"

Whether you work with a local or national association, trade union or other affiliated professional organization, you need to understand the facts about the insurance policy offered to you. Many (most) plans offered to association members are not true group plans, but rather supplemental coverages, sponsored or endorsed products that may or may not offer a discount.

Insurance companies require "true group" cases to have a minimum participation percentage. Although it varies by company, most plans require at least 60-70% of their eligible employees to be included in the companies health plan. Ineligible employees may be part time, seasonal, newly hired or employees that have elected to be covered under another plan, which is often their spouses coverage. Insurance companies also usually require the employer sponsor to pay for a large percentage of the employees medical costs.

These facts are not true with an association. Members are not employees. Many individuals are self employed or independent contractors. The insurance company and association can not require these members to enroll in the plan offering, therefore the actual participation rate may be poor. With the uncertainty of the actual number of participants joining the plan, the insurance company may actuarially calculate a higher premium rate or cushion into the plan design.

An association "group" plan does not mean that the premium will be lower or cheaper for member. It merely means that a member can join the plan, usually without medical underwriting to qualify for coverage. This creates a new problem for the sponsoring insurance company. Sick people enroll in a group with an already low percentage rate among eligible participants. This factor also contributes to higher rates. Many older associations are eventually dropped from the insurance carrier for poor claims experience and lack of member participation. Others experience large annual premium increases. Healthy people find alternative less expensive coverage, creating a larger "polluted pool" of more sick people, without the benefit of receiving the premiums from the healthy population. Often healthy or younger people pay more to help offset the expenses due to the plans high claims experience.

Before you join an association sponsored plan, don't jump in without first checking the premium rates against the open market. You may be able to purchase a small group plan (possibly the same plan as offered by the association) or individual coverage for less money, better benefits and more plan options. In California and several other states, small groups with (2 -50) employees can often qualify for Guaranteed Issue coverage. Incorporated spouses that are both officers of that company may even qualify as a 2 person group. This is a popular in the Real Estate community.

Become an informed shopper and compare the pro's and con's before buying your next health care program. You no longer need to pay for benefits and features that are not important to your situation. For more information on how you and your family or small business can purchase a quality health care plan for less money, take five minutes and shop on-line for additional plan options, competitive company comparisons and premiums rates. Once a plan is selected, you may enroll on-line or download an enrollment form and mail it.

For more information about affordable health insurance options for association plans, true group and individual plan options, visit QuoteBroker

Health Insurance - You can die without it

The number of American's without Health Insurance continues to grow, while the number of companies offering comprehensive benefits to their employees decline. There are far too many people who die everyday from illnesses and diseases, many conditions that could have been detected early, treated or prevented with proper health insurance coverage.

We buy car insurance, home owners protection and other types of coverages ( because the state or creditors require it) , meanwhile millions of American's do not buy health insurance because they believe the cost is too expensive. But we have no problem eating out daily or paying four bucks for a cup of coffee - go figure. Others avoid buying health insurance because they believe it is to difficult to understand, or they are afraid of making the wrong choice. Others simply don't want the hassle of interviewing insurance agents across the kitchen table until the right person and plan comes forward.

There is an affordable health insurance solution. Online insurance services now allow you to shop the insurance marketplace, compare plan features and apply online. Services such as QuoteBroker can help you sort this information by insurance name, deductible, plan type or premium. Plans can be compared in a simple side by side report that easy to understand and compare against other carriers. Within minutes you can sort and select a plan that is best for you. This unbiased approach to shopping let's you view all popular plans available in your city or state, each company competing for your business.

If health insurance is important to you, there have been many new plans that have been introduced to the marketplace that offer higher deductibles for the "big" expenses, but offer features at little or no cost to visit the doctor for office visits, health screenings, annual physicals and more. Try shopping for insurance online today.

What you need to know before buying a Health Insurance plan

Insurance plans vary, so before you choose a plan, decide which benefits are most important to you and your family. To compare health plans, make sure to ask for and examine a benefits summary or outline of coverage for each plan you're considering. Think about your personal situation. For instance, if you're no longer planning to have children, you won't mind that certain pregnancy-related services aren't covered. But you might be concerned if there's no mental health benefit to help pay for your therapy sessions. Are you concerned with preventive care and checkups? Would you be comfortable in a managed care setting that might restrict your choice somewhat but give you broad coverage and convenience? These are questions that only you can answer.

Here are some of the things to look at when choosing and comparing health insurance plans. Check to see which of these items are "covered" medical services:

· Inpatient hospital services
· Outpatient surgery
· Physician's visits (in the hospital)
· Office visits
· Skilled nursing care
· Medical tests and X-rays
· Prescription drugs
· Mental healthcare
· Dental services
· Drug and alcohol abuse treatment
· Home healthcare visits
· Physical therapy
· Speech therapy
· Hospice care
· Maternity care
· Chiropractic treatment
· Alternative healthcare, such as acupuncture
· Experimental treatments
· Preventive care, such as shots for children and "well visits"
· Well-baby care
· Health screenings, such as breast exams and Pap smears for women

The best way to shop the insurance marketplace is to use an online insurance shopping service. A more popular online quoting service is QuoteBroker.com. Within moments Quotebroker shops policies from multiple insurance providers, all competing for your business.

Whether you apply online for coverage or work with an agent, arm yourself with these quotes for comparison purposes. It is also important to determine what type of policy you are looking for - HMO, PPO or POS. A Google search of "insurance terms" will give you a simple product description.

Shopping for Insurance Online

Today more people are shopping online. Clothes, electronics and other consumer goods. But what about insurance? You bet. The number of online insurance shopping websites increase each month. Some sites are merely bait sites. These sites take your information and sell them to one or more insurance agents. Insurance agents purchase this information from these companies for $10 - $30 each. It's a numbers game for the salesman and a guaranteed revenue source for the online lead brokerage. Before you know it - multiple agents are calling you and requesting appointments to sit in your living room or across your kitchen table.

True online insurance brokerage firms usually are operated by professionals. You can easily check their credentials through the state department of insurance. Most have an insurance active insurance practice in his/her community. Others sell online, offering competitive product information. A good online insurance brokerage firm uses complex quoting engines that will shop the insurance marketplace and arm the shopper with competitive rates, plan descriptions and online comparisons from numerous insurance companies. Many times you can even download an application, or apply online. In California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, you can shop, compare and apply online for affordable health, life and disability insurance coverage from the original QuoteBroker.