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Posted on Feb 6, 2010 (2 days ago)
Several summers ago, we wrote about a "57-year-old suburban Boston man [who] underwent a sex-change operation ... wrote off the $25,000 in medical expenses on her [his?] taxes ... But the IRS disallowed the deduction."

Flashing forward [ed: was that really necessary?], we learn that the "U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday that a Massachusetts woman should be allowed to deduct the costs of her sex-change operation."

While this may well have "broad implications for transgender people" (and again, do they really need to use the term "broad?"), it has even, um, broader implications for transgender folks who also have an "alternative benefit" plan (HSA, HRA, FSA). The general rule of thumb is that, if its deductable on your taxes, it's eligible for tax-advantaged reimbursement under these plans [ed: the relevant controlling authority is IRS form 213(d), which appears not to have been updated - yet - to reflect this new reality].
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Tags:   ma1
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Posted on Feb 2, 2010 (6 days ago)

St. Petersburg's United Property & Casualty Insurance applies to branch into ...
Tampabay.com
The St. Petersburg company said Tuesday it is applying to write property and casualty insurance in Massachusetts, ...
Florida's United Property & Casualty Looks to Expand to Seven More StatesInsurance News Net (press
...
Tags:   ma1
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Posted on Feb 2, 2010 (6 days ago)

Surcharge Appeal Process Extended for Toyota Drivers in Massachusetts
Insurance News Net (press release)
Frank O'Brien, regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said Massachusetts' appeal process is "unlike anything else ...

and more »

Tags:   ma1
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Posted on Feb 2, 2010 (6 days ago)
Here's something that should make David Axelrod nervous: there are probably more Yankees fans in Massachusetts than there are young people who voted in the Massachusetts Senate special election, which cost the Democrats their filibuster-proof supermajority.
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 31, 2010 (8 days ago)
While I sympathize with all of you and your internal challenges HIPAA HITECH is not a college course you can duck. Yes it is pain in the neck and much more complicated to comply with than anything you have ever seen. BUT, it is Federal law and 47 states have similar laws as well. Massachusetts and [...]
Tags:   employee benefits, healthcare insurers, ma1, hitech, healthcare, ir, brokers, hipaa, healthcare reform
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Posted on Jan 29, 2010 (10 days ago)
Article Reprints The costs per all paid workers’ compensation insurance claims in Louisiana averaged 35 percent higher than the typical study state, according to a Massachusetts-based research g...
Tags:   business insurance, ma1, south central, la, la1, p&c
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Posted on Jan 29, 2010 (10 days ago)
Kansas Health Institute reports that the recession is crippling Kansas' safety-net system. "The Kansas unemployment insurance system is virtually broke at a time when Department of Labor officials say...
Tags:   ma1, id
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Posted on Jan 28, 2010 (11 days ago)
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - Barely a week after his knockout win in the Massachusetts Senate race, Scott Brown is boasting that he can beat President Barack Obama. At basketball. In an appearance on "The...
Tags:   west, ma1, ak, AP
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Posted on Jan 25, 2010 (14 days ago)
It would be a terrible mistake for Democrats to abandon comprehensive health care reform just because voters in the Massachusetts Senate race last week decided that they liked the Republican, Scott Brown, more than the Democrat, Martha Coakley.
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 25, 2010 (14 days ago)
By most accounts, graphic artist Harvey Ball created the original smiley face in 1963 as part of morale-boosting campaign for a Massachusetts insurance company. He was paid $45 for his work and never ...
Tags:   ma1, pa
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Posted on Jan 23, 2010 (16 days ago)
When enacted, MassHealth was touted as the answer to correcting the problem of the uninsured in Massachusetts. Healthcare providers (i.e., hospitals) and insurers were compelled to take cuts in reimbursement upon implementation of the ...
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 23, 2010 (16 days ago)
At least one Republican senator hopes Tuesday’s Massachusetts senate election doesn’t spell the end of health care reform, but rather a return to the drawing board.
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 23, 2010 (16 days ago)
You have to think that the political brawl over an excise tax on "Cadillac" health plans was the last straw in the election of a new senator in Massachusetts who opposed the national health care legislation altogether. It was one more backroom ...
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 22, 2010 (17 days ago)
Jan. 20, 2010To the editor:Why did Obama and the Dems lose Massachusetts? Americana. Yep, that’s it: Americana. We have honest differences about our liberal social or conservative fiscal issues, but...
Tags:   west, ma1, ak
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Posted on Jan 22, 2010 (17 days ago)
BOSTON — Massachusetts residents may enjoy the state law that requires health insurance for all residents, but they aren't convinced a national overhaul modeled after it will work. That's e...
Tags:   ma1
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Posted on Jan 22, 2010 (17 days ago)

The Guardian

Obama's Refocus on Banking Reform Is Too Little, Too Soon
Daily Finance
He's even having a tough time reining in AIG's Financial Product group's bonuses, even though that group was responsible for sinking AIG and costing the ...
...
Tags:   ma1, aig 401k
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Posted on Jan 22, 2010 (17 days ago)
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble. In one corner, weighing in at several trillion pounds, much of it in debt, is the vast, dissatisfied, embittered, jealous, angry American public. It’s mad as hell and it’s not going to take it any more. Assisting in this corner is the President of the United States, who [...]
Tags:   ma1, election 2008, talent management, regulatory policy, president obama, hr, paul volcker, hcm
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Posted on Jan 22, 2010 (17 days ago)
With prospects for national healthcare reform dimming following Tuesday's election in Massachusetts, a major bill that would establish universal healthcare, through a Medicare-for-all style reform, ha...
Tags:   ma1, ca4
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
email SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Scott Brown's election to the senate does not guarantee the defeat of President Obama's healthcare reform bill. But a Republican winning in a traditionally Democr...
Tags:   ma1, ga, southeast, WTOC
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
©2010 Google Globe and Mail In wake of Mass. vote, Coloradans ponder where health reform stands Denver Business Journal (blog) John Martie, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado, said the slight shift in the political landscape might lead to better reform ... Health debate growing Denver Daily News Random Mass/ healthcare notes The Guardian Brown Wins Massachusetts Senate Race The Moderate Voice Media Matters for America all 13,328 news articles »
Tags:   health insurers, ma1, bcbs
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
Suddenly sapped of political confidence, the White House and Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill were last night pondering their options for keeping healthcare reform and other key policy priorities alive in the wake of the stunning, upset victory by Republican Scott Brown in the special senate election in Massachusetts.
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
President Obama acknowledged the impact of Tuesday's Senate victory by Republican Scott Brown on health care legislation. "The people of Massachusetts spoke," the president said. "He's got to be part of that process." Charles Dharapak / AP President ...
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVARAssociated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Chastened by the Democratic Senate loss in Massachusetts, President Barack Obama and congressional allies signaled Wednesday they w...
Tags:   ma1, ga, southeast, AP
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
Tip O’Neill, the former speaker for the House from Massachusetts, coined the phrase, “All politics is local.” Certainly, there were some local factors in Republican Scott Brown’s victory Tuesday in the special Senate election in that New ...
Tags:   the uninsured, ma1, universal healthcare, uninsured
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Posted on Jan 20, 2010 (19 days ago)
The most immediate and pressing challenge facing Democrats is how to salvage health-care legislation now that they no longer have the 60 votes needed to break GOP filibusters. Even as Massachusetts vo...
Tags:   tn1, ma1, tn
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