Milford Discusses Employee Benefits
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
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Milford offers employee coverage under Star Mark and has been with this particular plan for four years. Although no town employees attended the meeting, Wagner did discuss options and explained the details of the town's coverage and benefit package.
Milford has 11 full-time employees, as well as a few part-time workers. Not all workers have coverage, but they are all eligible.
Under the current plan, the town pays $375 a month for single employee coverage, and $1,038 monthly for full family coverage. Employees also have Health Savings Accounts that the town pays into. Paid in monthly installments, HSAs for an individual receive contributions of $1,500 yearly; for a family the contribution is $3,000. The basic insurance offered is a comprehensive major medical plan. There is a $1,500 deductible, and then the plan pays 100 percent. Milford pays this deductible for its employees as part of their benefit package.
HSAs are essentially the same as a bank account that the individual has access to use for the purpose of paying "qualified medical expenses" that are permitted under federal tax law. This includes most medical care and services, and dental and vision care, and also includes over-the-counter drugs.
As a general rule, the money in an HSA cannot be used to pay for medical insurance premiums, except in certain circumstances.
An HSA account can be used to pay expenses for the account holder, their spouse, and their dependent children. Any amount used to pay for anything other than what is considered to be "qualified medical expenses" is taxable as income, and can be subject to an additional 10 percent tax penalty.
Any adult can contribute to an HSA if they have coverage under an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan, known as an HDHP; have no other first dollar medical coverage; are not enrolled in Medicare; and cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. Once a person is enrolled in Medicare, contributions to an HSA must stop. Money already in the account belongs to the individual.
One question that was raised during the meeting is whether or not Milford needs to adopt an ordinance regarding the coverage of an employee's spouse. If the spouse is covered by their employer, that insurance plan should stay as their primary coverage, and Milford's insurance would not be applicable under these circumstances. This is a main consideration that will be discussed later, according to officials.
Although exact percentages were not known during the meeting, it was estimated that employee insurance and benefits for the town of Milford are substantial.[[In-content Ad]]
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Milford offers employee coverage under Star Mark and has been with this particular plan for four years. Although no town employees attended the meeting, Wagner did discuss options and explained the details of the town's coverage and benefit package.
Milford has 11 full-time employees, as well as a few part-time workers. Not all workers have coverage, but they are all eligible.
Under the current plan, the town pays $375 a month for single employee coverage, and $1,038 monthly for full family coverage. Employees also have Health Savings Accounts that the town pays into. Paid in monthly installments, HSAs for an individual receive contributions of $1,500 yearly; for a family the contribution is $3,000. The basic insurance offered is a comprehensive major medical plan. There is a $1,500 deductible, and then the plan pays 100 percent. Milford pays this deductible for its employees as part of their benefit package.
HSAs are essentially the same as a bank account that the individual has access to use for the purpose of paying "qualified medical expenses" that are permitted under federal tax law. This includes most medical care and services, and dental and vision care, and also includes over-the-counter drugs.
As a general rule, the money in an HSA cannot be used to pay for medical insurance premiums, except in certain circumstances.
An HSA account can be used to pay expenses for the account holder, their spouse, and their dependent children. Any amount used to pay for anything other than what is considered to be "qualified medical expenses" is taxable as income, and can be subject to an additional 10 percent tax penalty.
Any adult can contribute to an HSA if they have coverage under an HSA-qualified high deductible health plan, known as an HDHP; have no other first dollar medical coverage; are not enrolled in Medicare; and cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. Once a person is enrolled in Medicare, contributions to an HSA must stop. Money already in the account belongs to the individual.
One question that was raised during the meeting is whether or not Milford needs to adopt an ordinance regarding the coverage of an employee's spouse. If the spouse is covered by their employer, that insurance plan should stay as their primary coverage, and Milford's insurance would not be applicable under these circumstances. This is a main consideration that will be discussed later, according to officials.
Although exact percentages were not known during the meeting, it was estimated that employee insurance and benefits for the town of Milford are substantial.[[In-content Ad]]
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