President Obama signed a sweeping health reform bill – The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23^rd. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it is expected to reduce the federal deficit by $124 billion.

Meanwhile its long term impact on landlords, property managers, property management companies and real estate professionals is not clear. If you fall into one of the above categories, you have to consider whether you are an independent contractor, employee or employer as it has different impact on you.

How Health Care Reform rolls out and what happens to who and when:

In 2010

1. Insurance Companies
   1. Insurance companies have to remove life-time caps on illness costs, cannot drop you if you fall ill and cannot deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions
2. Independent Contractor Property Managers, Real Estate Professionals and Employees
   1. Children up to the age of 26 can stay on their parent’s plan.
   2. Medicare D participants receive $250 credit
   3. Retirees between age 55-64 are offered re-insurance program
3. Employers – Property Management Companies
   1. If you own a property management company that offers health insurance, you get a 35% tax credit from premium paid
   2. Small employers can get tax credit up to 50% of premium paid

In 2011

1. Insurance Companies
   1. Insurers cannot raise premiums without providing justification or will be taken out of state insurance exchange pool
2. Independent Contractor Property Managers, Real Estate Professionals and Employees
   1. Medicare D participants receive 50% off brand name drugs while in doughnut hole
   2. Employees contributions to Flexible Spending Plans are capped at $2,500 limiting the amount that can be used to purchase health care with pre-tax dollars.
   3. Penalty for non-qualified withdrawals from Health Savings Account (HSA) increases from 10 to 20 percent and 15 to 20 per cent for Archer Medical Savings Accounts (Archer MSAs)

In 2013

1. Independent Contractor Property Managers, Real Estate Professionals and Employees
   1. If you are single filer and earn at least $200,000 per year or a joint filer earning at least $250,000 you will pay additional Medicare tax of nine-tenths of one percent called Hospital Insurance tax on income above these amounts.
   2. Itemized deductions for unreimbursed medical expenses rises from 7.5 to 10 per cent. It has an impact on individuals who itemize deductions.
2. Employers – Property Management Companies
   1. New Medicare tax is to be withheld by property management companies

In 2014

1. Independent Contractor Property Managers, Real Estate Professionals and Employees
   1. All individuals are required to carry health insurance or pay an IRS penalty of $750 per individual or 2% of income whichever is greater
   2. Subsidies for payment of insurance cost are offered and family of four earning up to $88,000 (four times the federal poverty level) will get a subsidy.
2. Employers – Property Management Companies
   1. Employers or property management companies with 50 or more employees are required to provide health insurance or pay a penalty of $2000 per employee per year. State exchanges enable employers like property management companies to purchase insurance at rates similar to employees of big companies.

In 2018

1. Insurance Companies
   1. All insurance plans offer preventative care with no co-pays and no deductible