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HBG Updates
Here are a few updates on things our customers are doing that you may want to know about.
2012 Forcast Meeting
Hal Otey is a financial advisor with Hal Otey Financial. He is sponsoring a couple of meetings about the market for 2012. The meetings will be held at The Racquet Club as follows:
- Thursday January 26 from 6 - 8 pm
- Tuesday January 31 from 10am - Noon
Resevations are required. If you are interested attending contact Alexis Robbins at 683-0222 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Fourth Annual Cochon 555 Comes to Memphis for the 1st Time
Jennifer Chandler has sent me a note that there will be a one of a kind culinary competition here in Memphis to be held at The Columns at One Commerce Square on Feburary 4th, at 6pm.
2012 Memphis competing chefs include Kelly English of Restaurant Iris, Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club, Lee Richardson of Ashley’s at the Capital Hotel, Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Café, and Michael Hudman and Andrew Ticer of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen.
For more information about the event, click here.
BNI - Business Networking
I've recently joined Business Network International. This is an organization where business professionals help promote each other's businesses. I have created a page about BNI here and am working on a list of our members. In our group, for instance, we have a CPA, a Real Estate Agent, a Payroll service companay, and others.
My plan is to continue working to make my customers more aware of each other's services and I think BNI will be a good complement to this. Click here to learn more about BNI and here to see some of our members.
Health Reform Update
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010. As a result of this law many significant changes have already taken place some good some not so good.
For instance:
Children up to the age of 26 can now remain on their parent's health plans regardless of their dependent or marriage status.
- Insurance carriers are now mandated to provide certain preventive services at 100% with no cost sharing for members which increases insurance premiums.
- Employer sponsored health plans will be subject to new non-discrimination rules; however, neither the precise details nor the effective date of these new rules has been issued causing uncertainty for many employers.
- Individual health insurers will no longer insure children under the age of 18 on a stand alone basis. In order to be eligible to apply they must be dependents on a parent's plan.
- Certain small employers are eligible for tax credits to help offset the cost their health insurance premiums.
Here are a few things that may affect you this year. Under the health reform law, fully insured health plans are now subject to a minimum medical loss ratio requirement. This means that a certain percentage of premiums collected by insurance carriers must be spent on claims and activities to improve health care quality. For individual & small group plans the number is 80% for large groups its 85%.
- Beginning in August 2012, health plans must provide rebates to enrollees if the carrier's medical loss ratio doesn't meet the requirements. This will create a number of questions & problems. Who will get the rebates the employer or the participants? Will the rebates be taxable? Who will be responsible?
- Starting in 2013 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) will be limited to no more than $2,500 per year. If your plan has limits higher than this, you will need to amend your plan before the end of 2012.
Here is a good resource for more information on health reform from Health Reform Provisions & Timeline.
