President Obama Announces Health Care Rebates for 8.5 Million Americans

Today, President Obama announced that more than 8.5 million Americans would be getting rebates from their insurance providers this summer due to one of the tax provisions of the health care reform law or “Obamacare”.

The new health care law requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the revenue from premiums on medical care rather than administrative costs.

Insurance providers who do not meet this standard are required to send rebates called Medical Loss Ratio Rebates to individual policyholders and employees with group health insurance policies.

Do I Have to Apply for the Rebate?

No, you will not have to fill out any applications for the rebate.  Your insurance company will send you a check in the mail if they did not meet the required insurance standards.

Will the Rebate Impact my Taxes?

The majority of individuals that get a rebate won’t need to do anything different on their taxes.

A small percentage of people may need to claim the rebate on their tax return.  If you had high medical expenses last year (more than 7.5% of income in 2012) and deducted your insurance premiums on your 2012 taxes, you may need to claim your rebate on your tax return.

Don’t worry!  As with all tax laws, TurboTax is up to date with the latest health care tax law changes.  You can always rely on TurboTax for answers to find out how health care reform impacts you, your finances, and your taxes.