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<\/a>The current debate in Washington DC on the healthcare bills is now taking direct aim at you! President Obama has signaled he would prefer a tax on so-called “cadillac” health plans, rather than an increase on income taxes for “the rich”.<\/p>\nWhat this means to many Montanans, including all state workers, most local government employees, as well as every teacher in every school district, is that you will be hit with a 40% tax<\/strong> on your insurance plans.<\/p>\n As envisioned in the Senate bill, an excise tax of 40 percent would be imposed on the value of individual health plans over $8,500 annually and family coverage over $23,000. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s less commonly known is that those dollar maximums include not just the premiums paid by employers and employees for medical insurance, but also for vision and dental coverage, as well as reimbursements from flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements, and employer contributions to health savings accounts.<\/em><\/p>\n If an individual were to withdraw $2,000 from a flexible spending account to help pay for medical care, for example, that amount would count toward the $8,500 ceiling. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Of course, the tax isn’t supposed to take effect until 2013. But take a look at your year-end pay stub and then figure that amount will increase by several percentage points between now and 2013 and then do a little simple math and see if you aren’t going to hit the magic threshold before the kick-in date.<\/p>\n The politicians are saying that the employers will pick-up the tab on this one, but just in case you’ve become a little jaded about politicians keeping their promises, and just in case you don’t have the extra $700 per month that this little tax could cost you, you might want to contact your senators and suggest that this isn’t the kind of healthcare reform you had in mind.<\/p>\n Just saying…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Attention Montana state employees: If you think you are overpaid and your benefits are too high, ignore this message. On the other hand, if you feel your total compensation is perhaps a bit below market, but your healthcare benefits balances … Continue reading