Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Tax Season ... And New Health Law Tax Forms Are Coming To You Soon
For tax year 2015, millions of Americans will be getting a new tax form related to health care reform measures. Will you know what to do with yours when it arrives? The Affordable Health Care Act, colloquially known as 鈥淥bamacare,鈥 mandated three new tax forms to be used as a kind of proof of insurance so taxpayers may avoid paying a penalty for failure to be covered. (Reeves, 2/19)
Earlier KHN coverage: (Andrews, 2/16)
In other news -
An unexpected winner from rising health care costs? Wall Street. More Americans are setting aside money in health-savings accounts for medical bills that their company plans no longer cover. Money managers are eyeing this new pool of assets as an opportunity. HSAs are primarily offered by banks and act as checking account-like pools that preserve balances. As they grow, however, some savers are increasingly interested in investments beyond money market funds that could generate greater returns over time. This is a welcome opportunity for asset management firms at a time when they are seeing net 401(k) withdrawals for the first time. (Martin and Krouse, 2/19)