Workers Health Insurance » Health Insurance

Health Insurance and Taxes

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:42:43 +0000

One common question that always arises when it comes to taxes is whether or not health insurance premiums are tax deductible. The answer depends on the nature of your employment.

If your company has what is called a cafeteria plan, then the chances are that your out-of-pocket expenses are tax-free. A cafeteria plan basically provides employees with the option to spend part of their income on things such as healthcare – with the benefit that the money spent is tax-free.

Obviously, if your company does not have a cafeteria plan, then you just might have to pay taxes on your health insurance premiums.

Now if you are self-employed, then you are in a better position. The premiums that you pay towards your policy are tax-deductible. More so, provided that your dependents are not covered by another health insurance policy (say, your spouse’s company’s group health plan), you can also declare their premiums as tax-deductible.

How to Maintain Health Insurance When Unemployed

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:09:46 +0000

When looking for a job, many people place utmost importance on health insurance benefits. Having your employer pay for the premiums – whether in part or in whole – is definitely a big plus. What if you lose your job? Is there a way to maintain health insurance coverage?

If you have a spouse who is employed, you have the option to switch coverage to her/him. This is not always applicable, however, as the health insurance provider/company of the employed spouse may not have options for dependents. This is one thing that you should immediately look at.

Another option is to take a closer look at COBRA. This law requires your employer to give you the option to continue the coverage you have while employed. Of course, when you lose your job for one reason or another, you will have to pay the premiums yourself. You have to make the decision soon as COBRA applies only for a limited period of time after loss of employment.

Coverage and Cost of Short Term Health Insurance

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:28:25 +0000

You might find yourself at a point where you will need short term health insurance, but do you know what will be covered by the policy? Do you also know how much it will cost you?

Let’s start with the coverage. The good news is that is that in general, short term health insurance policies have the same coverage as standard policies. However, most short term health insurance policies usually only cover fee-for-service issues – preventive maintenance such as check ups will not be covered. More so, dental care and optical care are usually not covered as well.

As for the cost, the news is even better. Short term health insurance policies are considerably cheaper than the standard policies which are renewable. How does $25 to $100 a month sound to you? That is how cheaply a short term health insurance policy can come. For a stopgap measure, it really is something that you should consider.