March 2010
Special Report Tax Briefing on the Health Care Reform Act
CCH recently released a Special Report Tax Briefing on the Health Care Reform Act, which does a great job of explaining the legislation and tax impact of each segment. As you know, news on health care reform develops quickly, but we found this tax briefing relevant. As CCH reported, "President Obama on March 23 signed the massive health care reform package approved by the House on March 21, 2010. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Patient Protection Act), approved by the Senate on December 24, 2009, is now law. It contains over $400 billion in revenue raisers and new taxes on employers and individuals. The House also passed on March 21 H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Tax Credits Reconciliation Act of 2010 (the House Reconciliation Act). The House Reconciliation Act serves as a “sidecar” bill, that will allow amendments to the Patient Protection Act to be passed by the Senate with only 51 votes using the budget reconciliation rules." Read more...
Senate Failure to Pass 30-Day Extension Causes 21.3 Percent Cut to Medicare Physician Payments on April 1
As reported by MGMA, the Senate has adjourned for its two-week “Spring District Work Recess” without approving H.R. 4851, a short-term measure that would have extended the freeze on Medicare’s current physician payment rates through April 30. Several Senate Republicans led by Tom Coburn of Oklahoma objected to classifying the bill, which also included extensions of unemployment benefits and COBRA insurance, as emergency spending. The House of Representatives passed the bill on March 17. By law, the 21.3 percent cut to Medicare physician payments will take effect April 1. Read more...
Safe Harbor for 401(k) Plan Deposits
The pension law prohibits an employer from using retirement plan assets for the employer's own benefit. The penalties for violating these rules are substantial. However, plan sponsors and their advisors have long argued that the regulations governing the timely deposit of retirement plan participant contributions and loan repayments are so confusing that plan sponsors could inadvertently run afoul of the regulations governing employer use of plan assets. Read more...
Medical Briefs
The current nursing shortage is projected to become worse, according to an article in a recent issue of Health Affairs. The authors project that the U.S. health care system will have a deficit of 260,000 registered nurses by 2025. They cite the rapidly aging work force as a primary contributor to the projected shortage. Read more...
HIRE Act: Incentives to Hire and Retain the Unemployed
In an effort to confront high unemployment, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act was signed into law on March 18, 2010. HIRE provides incentives for hiring and retaining unemployed workers. Under the HIRE Act, a qualified employer's 6.2 percent share of OASDI Social Security tax liability is forgiven for new hires, and a general business credit is allowed for each retained worker that satisfies a minimum employment period. Read more...
Somerset Health Care Team News
Cathy Weaver will be presenting "Physician Group and Hospital Co-Venturing and Integration" at the BDO Seidman Alliance Conference to the Health Care Industry Group members in Las Vegas on April 27, 2010.
Cathy Weaver will then be presenting "Insurance Contracting How Tos" at the Indiana Federation of Ambulatory Surgical Centers Conference in Indianapolis on April 30. Somerset will also host an exhibit booth at the event. Please come see us there--click here for the details.
Members of our Health Care Team will be in Anaheim for the AAOE Annual Conference from May 2 to 4. Somerset is a proud sponsor of the event again this year. Mike McCaslin will present "The Economics of Physician Employment Contracts & Stock Purchases" and Jeff Boomershine will present "Alternative (and Legal) Methods of Allocating Ancillary Income." Please stop by to see us at Booth 609. Click here for conference details.
Somerset Health Care Roundtables - On Thursday, March 25, Cathy Weaver and Jeff Boomershine presented "Co-Management Agreements: What They Are and How They Work." If you missed it and are interested in the audio from the event, please contact us. Please save the date--Tuesday, May 18--for our next roundtable. Details coming soon.
2010 Best Places to Work in Indiana - Somerset CPAs has been selected as one of the 2010 Best Places to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. We are proud to again be on the list of small to medium-sized companies. We thank our employees for making us one of the best!
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Spring is here, which means baseball season is about to begin. We are looking forward to cheering on the Indianapolis Indians from our suite at Victory Field again this year. If you are interested in renting it for a game, please let us know. It's a great way to enjoy the game with 15 of your staff, family and friends.
Somerset is a proud supporter of
the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and will be participating in the Komen
Indianapolis Race for the Cure on April 17.
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information.
Health Care Commentaries is provided by Somerset’s Health Care Team for our clients and other interested persons upon request. Since technical information is presented in generalized fashion, no final conclusion on these topics should be made without further review. For additional information on the issues discussed, please contact a member of our Health Care Team. This document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.
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