Personal Finance Daily: Health insurers may be coughing up rebates

By MarketWatch

Don’t miss these top stories:

Two of our personal-finance columnists take a look at the Affordable Care Act from different perspectives today.

Kristen Gerencher reports on a study that shows health insurers may be forking over $1.3 billion in rebates this summer. A provision in the health-reform law means rebates to consumers whose health plans have exceeded the limits of a formula designed to ensure that premium payments go mostly to pay for actual medical care. Consumers and businesses in Texas and Florida will see the largest rebates, with $186 million and $149 million coming back, respectively. Also today, Andrea Coombes writes in her Ways and Means column that if the Supreme Court declares the health-reform law unconstitutional, it could really upend numerous tax provisions. Who stands to benefit from that? Well, the richest Americans — the top 0.1% — would avoid about $125,000 more in taxes per year on average if the health law is overturned.

And finally, Robert Powell writes in his Your Portfolio column that investors should be aware of, and prepared for, both inflation and deflation pressures.

— Anne Stanley , managing editor, personal finance

Rates on fixed-rate mortgages average just above record lows this week, according to Freddie Mac’s survey of conforming rates on home loans.
Read more: Rates on 30-year mortgage fall to 3.88%.

This summer, your health-insurance costs could go down for a change. A provision in the federal health-reform law stands to return big bucks to customers whose health plans have exceeded the limits of a formula meant to ensure that most premium dollars go to pay for medical care instead of overhead and profit.
Read more: Health insurers could rebate $1.3 billion.

Neither an inflationist nor a deflationist be. That, to mangle the well-known quotation, sums up the view of some investment professionals who are struggling to make sense of current market conditions.
Read more: Inflation or deflation: Be ready for either.

Whatever their opinion of the health-care reform law, wealthy Americans have a lot of money riding on the Supreme Court’s coming decision on the law’s constitutionality. And taxpayers of all income brackets could see tax laws upended by the Supreme Court’s decision.
Read more: Health law’s demise could save big bucks, for some.

View the original article here