Tag Archives: Internal Revenue Service

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David Simas, The White House ~~ ACA


The White House, Washington

The very best people to describe what having new health insurance means — what it feels like — isn’t me, or any White House policy staffer. It’s not even the President.

It’s you. Or your neighbor, coworker, sister, or partner.

It’s anyone who woke up on the morning of January 1st with the peace of mind, security, and quiet dignity that comes with taking your health care into your own hands.

We’ve been hearing from a lot of you. Your stories are powerful, and they keep coming in.

Read what 10 different Americans had to say about what being covered now means to them. Then, join them and share a story of your own.

JoAnn S., Florida “I haven’t had insurance in years and my husband had a shared insurance junk-type policy. The day I signed up on Dec 10, I actually cried when the application went through. I got my first premium notice in the mail yesterday and  was never so happy to see a bill before.”

Gayla W., New Hampshire “I lost my job last April. My partner and I both have pre-existing conditions so our only option was to COBRA my employer-provided plan — at a cost of $1,676 a month. It was a good plan, but now we have a comparable plan through the ACA for $87 a month. I can’t describe just how life changing this is for us. We can afford to live again.”

Stella R., California “For me this makes all the difference between having good health or not. I recently had a CAT scan (which I had to pay out of pocket for) because I was losing a lot of weight. It turns out that something was found and now I will need to see specialists and have further procedures done to make sure it is not cancer. My first appointment is on January 6 with a specialist. If I did not have health insurance, I would not be able to see a specialist. It would wipe out any savings I have and leave me medically at high risk.”

Brian F., Florida “I have not had Insurance for over 10 years.  I had a pre-existing condition that made me uninsurable — even though I was perfectly healthy. The last quote I got was in 2008: It was $1,750 a month with a $10,000 deductible. There was no way to ever afford that. …This insurance changes everything for me. I do not have to worry anymore when I get a sore throat or an infected cut that I will have to go to the emergency room — run up thousands in bills and then have to file bankruptcy. This is a great day. Thank you for the ACA. It is a life changer.”

Elina K., Colorado “My mom, who is 61 and works as a freelance Russian interpreter, went to the ER in November. She, her partner and myself are uninsured. Tests confirmed she had a major blockage and would need surgery. The mass appears to be cancerous and is pushing down on her internal organs. She has been in severe pain for weeks. … Last night, around 3 a.m., she was admitted to the hospital and will be having surgery which she had to put off until her ACA policy kicked in at midnight. She now has expert care in a facility that in less than 24 hours changed her medication and treated her symptoms with noticeable results. When my stepdad came home tonight, exhausted after spending all day at the hospital, all he could say was ‘thank god for Obamacare’ …It may well end up saving her life.”

Kendra S., Oklahoma “Just this past October, my husband was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. This devastating news was compounded by the fact we were not insured, my husband could no longer work, and the rapid medical procedures that occurred quickly ran up thousands of dollars that we don’t have the money to pay. We quickly began researching the ACA, made an appointment with a local Community Care office and after many hours of research, to determine the coverage that we could afford. We are so grateful for the ACA. With the incredibly terrible stress that has befallen upon our family, at least now we know his medical expenses are covered.”

Rachelle L., Florida “My 28-year-old daughter was able to get healthcare coverage on her own for the first time through the ACA. She has a pre-existing condition, a genetic kidney disease that prevented her from getting coverage in 2009 at the age of 24 when she had to come off of our policy due to the age requirement. Her Cobra payments were $650 a month because she could not get  more reasonable private coverage due to her pre-existing condition.  In 2010, she was able to come back on our BCBS plan because of the ACA and was able to remain there until she finished school. We signed her up through the website and paid for her plan directly through Cigna on December 2: $298/month for a silver plan with a  $0 deductible! She received her new insurance card on December 27th for coverage starting Jan 1! We now have peace of mind that all of her medical needs will be covered at a reasonable cost.”

Curtis D., Washington “Our new coverage has begun. I am 62, and my wife is 55. We are both self employed and  neither of us have had coverage for the past seven years.  Thankfully we are both pretty healthy, but it feels good to know we can schedule a checkup and take care of any lingering issues we’ve been putting off. Thank you for making improvements to the health care of the country.”

Kelly M., Maryland “I have a new plan. I haven’t had insurance for years. When I applied for insurance before, I was denied for pre-existing conditions, even for plans with huge deductibles. I signed up on the Maryland Healthcare Exchange back in October, and by January 1st, I was holding an insurance card from Carefirst Blueshield and have already had my first doctor’s appointment. It works. I am proof. And I’m so grateful that I can take care of myself with dignity without having to go to the ER whenever I’m sick or have to spend half of my paycheck at an urgent care center. I can do all of the preventative measures that I have been putting off, and get back on the road to health. It’s a good feeling.”

Kate S., Connecticut “This healthcare reform is a life-changing event for my family. My husband and I have had to carry our own insurance for the past 25 years and, with the family insurance we had, we were paying $2,500.00 a MONTH for coverage, which we could not afford. Once the children graduated from high school, we had to take them off our policy because we could not afford it anymore. … We have never been high wage earners and the costs of our insurance have for years been an impossible burden. Now that the system is fair and goes by our income, we finally may be able to set money aside and save for our future.”

Simply put, for millions of Americans: Health reform matters.

If you’ve got a story of your own, share it with us here.

And if you don’t think stories like these ones get told enough — then do something to change that. Pass this on.

Thank you,

David

David Simas Deputy Senior Advisor The White House @Simas44

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More of the Same?


By 

Will 2014 Be a Turning Point for Women?

As we’ve documented, the last few years have been very difficult for advocates of women’s reproductive freedom. From 2011-2013, more restrictions on abortion rights — a record-breaking 205 — were enacted by state legislatures than during the entire previous decade.

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While we have kicked off 2014 with yet another conservative attack on the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit, advocates for women’s reproductive rights believe that this year will be a turning point:

“The momentum has shifted,” Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told ThinkProgress in an interview. “Americans as a whole have had enough. We’re not just going to sit idly by and fight defensive fights and take these attacks on reproductive freedom sitting down. We’re starting to define what a new agenda for reproductive freedom looks like in the 21st century.” […]

“Abortion access is ground zero of reproductive freedom; without it, we don’t have autonomy and self-determination over our lives. But it’s not as though our reproductive lives start and end there,” Hogue noted. “There’s a whole landscape out there of policies that have lagged far behind.”

What does this new agenda look like?

Those policies include other health-related initiatives, like ensuring that women have access to family planning services and maternity care. They involve tackling violence by cracking down on domestic abuse and rape. But they also include economic policies to help ensure that women have the resources to direct the courses of their lives and provide for their families — like equal pay legislation, affordable child care services, and efforts to prevent workplace discrimination. Rather than framing reproductive rights as a women’s issue, groups like NARAL are working on making the point that they’re also inextricable from the nation’s economic agenda.

For much, much more on this, check out the rest of ThinkProgress’ Tara Culp-Ressler’s deep dive HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: While conservatives are only interesting in dragging us back into the culture wars of the past, progressives are focused on a proactive agenda to make sure women and their families have a fair shot at getting ahead.

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Video: Could This Be The Most Expensive Land In The U.S.?


Brave New Foundation                                  Donate Brave New Foundation
Creating Media That Makes An Impact

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Cuéntame is proud to announce the launch of our new series, Border Inc: How Corporations Are Bringing the Battlefield Home…And Making a Killing.

We have partnered with Presente and Border Network For Human Rights to expose the “border surge” – or shall we say “border splurge” – and the corporate giants who are pushing for it behind closed doors, as well as the hugely wasteful, absurd border spending & contracting that has repeatedly failed us and is making us less safe. You are paying for it and a CEO is making a killing. Watch our first three short videos exposing the splurge here. You won’t believe the absurdity!

Ultimately, BorderInc.org poses an essential question – rarely asked in the immigration debate – is border militarization and “corporatization” making us less safe? The answer is yes.

Watch the videos to see for your self and stand up to corruption, greed and abuse!

Yours,

Axel Caballero and the Cuéntame team
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Small business and ACA
Calvin W. Goings Regional Administrator Calvin W. Goings

The Affordable Care Act, Part 3

The U.S. Small Business Administration is committed to educating small business owners about the facts surrounding the Affordable Care Act, so that you can make an informed decision about what makes sense for your business – including whether you choose to apply for a tax credit.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, small businesses are benefitting from improved accountability and affordability in the health insurance market. As you prepare for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplaces to begin open enrollment on October 1, it is important that small businesses, who offer health insurance to their employees, remember that you may also be eligible for a tax credit. This can significantly offset the cost of providing insurance, by crediting a percentage of small business owners’ premium contributions.

Through 2013, to qualify for a small business tax credit of up to 35 percent (up to 25 percent for non-profits) of your premium contributions, you must meet all of the following criteria:

·         Have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees

·         Pay average annual wages below $50,000

·         And, contribute 50 percent or more toward your employees’ self-only health insurance premiums.

Beginning in January 2014, this tax credit increases to 50 percent (35 percent for non-profits) and will be available to small businesses who meet the criteria listed above and who purchase coverage through the new SHOP Marketplaces (also known as Exchanges). This enhanced credit can be claimed for any two consecutive taxable years beginning in 2014 (or beginning in a later year) through the SHOP.

To determine whether your small business or tax exempt organization qualifies for the credit, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a helpful step-by-step guide. Visit http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/ and search for the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. If you have additional questions about the tax credit, or need assistance completing the necessary forms, call the IRS Business Help Line at 1-800-829-4933.

Once you’ve determined that you qualify for the credit, your tax professional can help guide you through the necessary steps to claim the credit which include:

·         Carrying the credit back or forward to other tax years.

·         Obtaining a refundable credit if you are a tax-exempt employer. (Note this is a federal tax credit. You may also be eligible for additional health care tax credits from your state.)

·         Using Form 8941, Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums, to calculate the credit. It’s also important to know that eligible small employers can claim the credit and still take a business expense deduction for the remainder of their premium contributions.

The Affordable Care Act allows small employers to offer health coverage in a way that makes sense for their business and works for their bottom line, and the SBA is committed to leveraging our resources and federal partnerships to connect you with the facts and resources you need to understand the law.

To learn more, visit www.sba.gov/healthcare.
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Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center
Here are some things we don’t think you should be punished for:

  • Having a chronic disease.
  • Taking care of an elderly parent.
  • Living in a neighborhood where exercising outdoors isn’t safe.

Seems obvious, right? But a loophole in the health care law could do just that.
We need your help to close a loophole in the health care law that could punish low-income women and women with chronic diseases. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released proposed rules on the health care law’s wellness program that would increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for individuals who do not or cannot participate in certain wellness activities, such as an exercise program. Help us make sure that employer-sponsored wellness programs don’t penalize women and their families.
Programs that increase premiums or out-of-pocket costs for individuals who do not participate in employer-run wellness programs could cause women who hold more than one job, who have childcare or eldercare responsibilities, or health conditions that restrict their ability to participate in program activities to pay more for health coverage or health care. And they ignore other economic and environmental barriers to improving health for low-income women and the fact that women who are pregnant or breast feeding might be medically-advised against participating in certain activities, such as a weight-loss program.
You have less than a week to make your voice heard! The IRS is only taking comments about its proposed rules on the health care law’s wellness program until July 2. That’s why we need you to make your voice heard today.
Going to the gym and eating healthy foods are good goals but easier for some than others. If your neighborhood grocery store doesn’t have fresh vegetables, you have children or elderly family to care for, or your community doesn’t have an affordable gym or sidewalks for you to walk and run on— it may be nearly impossible to be part of a program that requires you to participate to keep your health insurance premiums or out of pocket costs affordable.
Take action now.
Thank you for all you do for women and families.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center