Elliott Davis Hosts Webinar on Tax Provisions in The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act

Richard Battle, Elliott Davis Tax Shareholder, recently hosted a webinar focused on existing and developing tax provisions in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The webinar highlighted the following topics:

• Provisions Affecting Individuals in General
• Provisions Targeting High-Income Individuals
• Business-Related Provisions
• Excise Tax on High-Cost Employer Plans
• Industry Fees
• Reporting and Compliance Provisions
• Summary Timeline of Tax Provisions

CLICK HERE to view a recording of the webinar.

Elliott Davis Principal Hosts Webinar on The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Elliott Davis Medical Consulting Practice Chair, recently hosted a webinar focused on current developments in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In addition, he provided information about how the new health care reform will affect you.

CLICK HERE to view a recording of the webinar.

Elliott Davis Dental Services Practice: Financial Check-Up Newsletter August 2010

We at Elliott Davis hope you are having an enjoyable summer. In this issue, we take a look at a letter that has been prepared by our personal financial services department. These are uncertain times and estate taxes are really in a state of flux. Even in this environment, you will see that there are steps you can take to protect your family and yourself. Should you have any questions about estate taxes, please feel free to contact us.

Federal Contractors and Subcontractors Subject to New Notification Requirements

As of June 21, 2010, federal contractors and subcontractors are now required to inform their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Specific actions related to the requirements are described below.

Requirements
Under the rule, federal contractors and subcontracts must: 1) post a notice informing employees of their collective bargaining rights, and 2) include a clause in covered federal contracts, subcontracts and purchase orders requiring their subcontractors to post the employee notice as well.

These new requirements resulted from a final rule issued by the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) in May that implemented President Obama’s Executive Order 13496.

Exceptions and Exemptions
There are exceptions and exemptions from the compliance obligations. For instance, the posting requirements do not apply to prime contracts under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently set at $100,000; to subcontracts below $10,000; or to contracts where work is performed exclusively outside the United States.

Penalties
Failure to comply with the new posting requirements or employee notice clause requirements could result in contract/subcontract termination or suspension. In addition, the federal contractor or subcontractor may be deemed ineligible for future government contracts.

More Information
For more information on the new notification requirements, visit the Department of Labor’s website at http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EO13496.htm.

Elliott Davis Dental Services Practice: Financial Check-Up Newsletter June 2010

This month we take a look at how recent legislation will affect you and your dental practice. The Health Care Reform bill will create a massive overhaul to health insurance and health care delivery. In addition to changing the way insurers are allowed to operate (such as doing away with lifetime limits and requiring coverage for preexisting conditions) the bill includes incentives for employers to provide health insurance to employees and imposes new taxes on those defined as high income. It is complicated and no one has all the answers yet, but feel free to call us if you want to discuss the bill further. We also have information about how to streamline your banking process and better protect yourself against fraud, written by a banker with BB&T. Enjoy this issue and have a great summer!

Elliott Davis Dental Services Practice: Financial Check-Up Newsletter March 2010

April 15th is fast approaching. With the right amount of preparation, you should have a firm estimate of what to expect on Tax Day. If you have not prepared, it’s not too late.

If you have received word of a large balance due, do not panic. Let us take a second look. There are steps to take, even at this late date, that could reduce your tax burden. Have you fully funded your retirement account? Have you made the correct decisions regarding depreciation? Is your information presented properly on your tax return?

While taxes are on your mind, now is a good time to seriously consider a possible Roth IRA conversion. Shanna Morales lays out the important points below. Theresa Kaake follows with some good bookkeeping information. As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of our newsletter and we wish you a great spring!

Elliott Davis VitalSigns Newsletter Winter 2010

The beginning of a new year provides a great opportunity to evaluate the position of your organization. Are you meeting your financial goals, making your patients healthy and happy, growing your practice, satisfying regulatory demands, improving your technology, and working well with your fellow professionals? Whether only one or all of these items are on your organization’s radar for the new year, you should take a moment to plan for how you can progress toward meeting your goals in the year ahead.

In this issue of VitalSigns, we discuss the growth stages of a hospital-owned physician network, regulatory reporting requirements, incentives of CMS reporting, finding the best doctor to hire for your practice, and standardized patient surveys.

We wish the best for you and your practice in the coming year and hope that, if nothing else, we are finally moving past the economic hurdles our nation has recently faced and will be able to once again fully focus on both the practice and business of medicine.

Elliott Davis Dental Services Practice: Financial Check-Up Newsletter January 2010

2009 was a tough year for the American economy, but indications are that 2010 will be better. With potentially higher tax rates looming, it is important to take a proactive financial approach in this New Year.

In this issue, Susan Harris discusses the basics of Health Savings Accounts and how they can be best utilized. Also provided is information on new and/or revised tax credits, as well as a guide to deducting meal and entertainment costs. As always, please contact us if you have any questions. We hope you enjoy the reading!

Elliott Davis VitalSigns Newsletter Fall 2009

The health care industry is bracing itself for the possibility of some drastic changes. Depending on the future of the proposed health care plan, the industry could be facing a large overhaul. Unfortunately, these possible changes and the direction of the proposed plan are both uncertain at this time. So instead of waiting and wondering, it’s best to keep working on the things that you can control.

For instance, though patient complaints can’t be totally controlled, they can be used as a tool for learning and improvement. In this issue, we discuss how to turn negative patient feedback into positive aspects for your practice. We also provide advice about how to manage denials to increase your revenue, discuss the proper steps involved in partnering with a health system and suggest some ways to appropriately manage sample medications.

With so many unknowns thrown into the equation, there may not be a lot you can do to prepare for potential changes to the industry, but you can focus on the internal management of your practice. Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Make sure everything is functioning smoothly so that you’re able to make the most of the opportunity health care changes bring, if and when they occur.

Individual Year End Planning

April 15. That’s the date most taxpayers think of as their federal tax deadline.

However, the best date for a taxpayer to focus on is December 31. Why? You always can file an extension to avoid the April 15 deadline; but you can’t move the end of your tax year.

Once December 31 passes, your taxable income, deductions, credits and tax liability for the year are all “set in concrete” with little if any opportunity to change the outcome. As a result, year-end tax planning should form an essential part of your financial strategy. Changes brought about during this year, and forecasts for 2010, make that advice even more compelling for year-end 2009.

Effective year-end tax planning for 2009 combines use of traditional techniques of acceleration and deferral of income/deductions with appropriate responses to a constantly changing tax landscape. Below are various topics that you may want to consider for year-end planning.