Health care insurance costs now on W-2

[FIREd]

DW's employer paid $13,231 and we paid an extra $2,750 out of pocket for a Blue Cross Anthem PPO plan for the 2 of us.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

For personal financial planning, note that if you itemize you can deduct any medical expenses about 7.5% of your AGI.

Thanks to Obamacare, this threshold rises to 10% for those under 65 starting in 2013.

 

[anethum]

i will get shot for this. Obamacare is not bringing cost down

Although I did not live in Massachusetts or even in New England, the corporation I used to work for was based in Massachusetts and my health insurance was through Blue Cross of Massachusetts. The company's premiums and my share of the premium went DOWN when Romneycare went into effect. I expect the same thing to happen nationwide next year.

Everybody is paying one way or another for all of the people who are presently uninsured but who need health care services.

 

[Gatordoc50]

Ours was 23500.00 for three of us. We pay 170.00 per month.

 

[Midpack]

In other interesting developments regarding employer health costs:

Many unions are lobbying for changes to PPACA which would allow some of their members, who are covered by Union insurance plans or employer/union plans, to receive health insurance subsidies from the government. As the law is now written, the subsidies go only to lower-income individuals who don't have insurance provided by their employer. From this article:

I think many corporations may have made the same arguments about PPACA and competitiveness issues in the distant past.

I just read the same article this afternoon.

It appears many people only heard 'no/fewer uninsured', 'no lifetime caps', 'no pre-existing conditions' and never stopped to a) note what HC already costs, or b) what those 'new' phrases might add to cost. I'll just say this is going to get interesting, and leave it at that.

 

[Ronstar]

I glanced at my W-2 and I do not have a DD listed. IIRC as a company owner, health insurance is a different animal. Mine shows up in box 14. As an owner, I had to "pay" my health ins, and I was reimbursed as "other earnings", so the premium I payed was included in my year to date income. It was subtracted from gross pay to get "social security wages" from which my 401k contribution was subtracted to arrive at the box 1 wages number.

Its been like this for years. It doesn't look like it has caused me any tax disadvantages since it was a wash at the paycheck level and not in the box 1 number.

 

[Original Wally]

Sounds like a potential build-up for when and if they decide to start taxing it...

Interesting point. Code Section 61 (IIFC) reads something like "Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, gross income means all income from whatever source derived..."

SO, unless medical premiums and other "employee benefits" are specifically EXCLUDED from income they are included. At this point, they are excluded. The POINT is that the mechanism is already in place - all Congress needs to do is pul the plug on the exclusion.

 

[Mulligan]

The difference is that you had to qualify with no pre-existing conditions for your individual insurance. Employer plans take all employees, all ages and conditions.

Without question you are correct. That is why I am torn on this as I know the healthcare act was needed as insurance companies would exclude people for the smallest of reasons. People on Lipitor or blood pressure medicine are not the cause of our nations high health costs, but have been treated as such by the insurance companies in the individual market. The problem with health care costs are 20% of population are consuming 80% of the resources, with 5% accounting for almost 50%. Most of the 20% is treatment for people at the beginning of life and the end of life, so I have no solution that's for sure. Here is the link explaining the percentages I have quoted.

http://www.politifact.com/oregon/st...0-percent-population-really-use-80-health-ca/

I would be a little worried myself, long term, if I was having that information put on my W-2. I can't imagine it was inserted as a public service reminder to hug your boss for the benefits you are receiving.

 

[samclem]

The problem with health care costs are 20% of population are consuming 80% of the resources, with 5% accounting for almost 50%.

I don't know if we can say that's the reason our health care costs are high. That's just the nature of illness: Most people aren't ill, some are quite ill and a few are extremely ill and require a lot of care.
It seems to me that the health care cost problem is that we don't have an effective way to control them. There are only two fundamental approaches: mandatory price controls on services (i.e. the government says an MRI of a knee can only cost $147), or use of market forces to reduce the flow of money into the system while allowing insurers to compete based on premiums and quality of care. Both approaches have their fans and pros/cons. But if the money-tap is kept turned on, medical costs will keep rising.

 

[meierlde]

I'll agree that it's bad public policy.

For personal financial planning, note that if you itemize you can deduct any medical expenses about 7.5% of your AGI. "Medical expenses" includes dental, vision, deductibles, copays, even mileage. When I was w**king, we never came close to the 7.5%. After I retired and we were buying high-risk individual insurance, we blew right through that number. I kept track of everything.

Thinking about a family of four with an $80k AGI and no employer subsidized health insurance, they can deduct all expenses over $6,000. They may come close to the $6,000 with dental, vision, etc. and end up deducting a good deal of their major medical premium.

In 2013 and following that goes to 10% of AGI. Note that long term insurance premiums are also included.

 

[heirloom]

I glanced at my W-2 and I do not have a DD listed.

Me neither.... get a pension and severance check. I looked three times at both and this wasn't listed. As a matter of fact, box 12 is state tax.

I thought it would be on my pension stmt because that is where my insurance pmt comes out of.

 

[comicbookgujy]

My DD shows $8k. I pay $4k a year. Damn, my health plan sucks.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

Form W-2 Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage

Thanks, this answered my question about whether I would get a W2 next year from ex-employee only showing DD amount. The answer is that it is not required but not prohibited, so I will find out next year.

 

[Gatordoc50]

Just read that the tax free treatment of employer sponsored health benefits costs the govt 180 billion dollars/year or 80 percent more than the mortgage deduction.

 

[MichaelB]

Just read that the tax free treatment of employer sponsored health benefits costs the govt 180 billion dollars/year or 80 percent more than the mortgage deduction.

Yes. Here's a good article with a list of tax expenditures for 2011 Econbrowser: Tax Expenditures

 

[Too young to work]

DW and I pay about 1300 a year, DD says a little over 18,000.

I was surprised to see how much our plan actually costs. Funny thing is, we probably only cost the insurance company between 500 and 800 a year. We don't go to the doc unless there's a problem. Wish I could just take all that money and shove it into a HSA.

 

[SumDay]

My box DD is $15,519, and I pay $408 a month.

I have a theory why they're presenting this #, but I won't say it out loud for fear of jinxing things....

 

[Mulligan]

My long time dear GF has one of those union insurance plans that time has long forgotten. It is a $150 yearly total deductible that costs her around $50 a month out of pocket. Although neither of us need the piece of paper to validate our relationship, she said we could always get married and I could join the plan as the spouse add on only costs $200 a month for same plan. It would be our luck we do it, and then they slap a major tax on it so high, that I would have to drop it.

 

[tinlizzy]

$18,994.92, family plan. No premium, no deductable. Excellent insurance. Medical, dental, vision, prescriptions - I'm guessing that figure includes it all.

 

[Gumby]

The young wife and I each have our own employer health insurance. My W2 DD amount was $7491. Hers was $8857.

 

[RockyMtn]

12DD for me $18,205.00. I smell a 12EE and that is amount taxed on 12DD!

 

[RockyMtn]

Still on payroll from former employer for consulting. My 12DD is $18,205.00. I think next year there may be a 12EE that says tax on 12DD!

 

[obgyn65]

Some of these numbers are incredibly high. I will check mine next week and report back.

 

[SteveNU]

My number is $20500 with spouse and dependent children. I pay $225 bi- weekly as my portion.

 

[Gatordoc50]

Yes. Here's a good article with a list of tax expenditures for 2011 Econbrowser: Tax Expenditures

Thanks. Amazing.