As more Americans in the middle class lost financial ground in 2015, they’re also more financially mindful and plan to make financial resolutions in 2016 given rising interest rates and the financial volatility in 2015. Saving more, spending less, paying down debt – and especially managing their growing burden of health care costs – will…
View full story article on the Wall Street Journal at “How to Get Taxpayers to Save Their Refunds”
U.S. consumers have gone frugal in shopping for consumer goods, a behavior changed by the Great Recession of 2008. This post-recession shopper is also morphing into a frugal healthcare consumer. Being frugal in healthcare is tricky though, and too many people aren’t taking advantage of one of the most useful tools for managing health care…
“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them,” wrote Chief Justice Roberts on June 25, 2015, the day the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled 6-3 in favor of upholding the Affordable Care Act. [Here’s a link to the Court’s decision]. Moments later, the President asserted…
The Supreme Court decision to uphold the validity of subsidies in states using the federally run marketplace means millions of Americans in nearly three dozen states will continue having access to affordable health insurance plans. Tax season 2015 will be the second year when taxpayers will be reporting their health insurance status on their tax…
When the government and private sector work together to solve problems, they have the ability to change lives. Think of the emergency alerts that you get during severe weather or if a child goes missing in your area. Government agencies broadcast the alerts, but it’s the partnership with the mobile carriers that puts the information…
A car, housing, or health insurance $24,671 will buy you a new 2015 Subaru Cross-Trek, pay for a one-bedroom apartment in Washington, DC, for a year, or buy a health plan for a family of four covered by an employer in the U.S. That number is this year’s Milliman Medical Index, calculating the average company’s…
As health consumers in the U.S. take on more financial responsibility for paying for health care out-of-pocket, they’re feeling the tug on their wallets and savings accounts. Quickly, financial services companies are coming into focus for people to look to at the nexus of physical and financial health. Consumers trust financial service companies – say…
If it’s April in the U.S., it’s tax season. What’s new this year is that American taxpayers must report their health insurance status when filing their 2014 tax information with the IRS. And one in two taxpayers doesn’t realize that’s the case. This is the first year that, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Americans…
With more financial skin in the health care game, and fewer uninsured citizens, too many Americans self-ration health care while trying to “save money” and avoid paying down deductibles that are the centerpiece of their health plans. This is a short-term fiscal choice that can lead to huge future financial and physical costs. In November…
