A special thank you to all my dedicated clients and customers in the Greater Lansing area

• Number 1 Sales Associate in Michgian
• Number 1 Sales Associate in Northern Region
• International President’s Premier

I would also like to share with you a clip on The Advantages Home Ownership that The National Association of REALTORS recently released.

Home owners are happier and healthier and enjoy a greater feeling of control over their lives.
Home owners pay 80% to 90% of federal income taxes, contributing to federal programs that benefit all Americans.
Every home purchased pumps $60,000 into the economy for furniture, home improvements, and related items.
Housing accounts for more than 15% of the national Gross Domestic Product, a key driver of our national economy.
If you would like additional information on making a decision about owning a home in the Greater Lansing Area, feel free to contact me for additional information.

Lynne VanDeventer
Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood
3695 Okemos Road · Okemos, MI 48864
517-492-3274
lynnevanda@coldwellbanker.com

• Office staff must notify the physician when a patient cancels or does not show-up for an appointment.
• The physician will determine the clinical significance and urgency of contacting the patient to reschedule the appointment.
• Appropriate follow-up for those patients needing to reschedule will include:

–     At least two telephone calls to attempt to reschedule.

–     If unable to reach patient by phone, a certified letter is sent to their home explaining the importance of rescheduling the appointment.

• No-shows and cancellations are documented in the medical record.
• Efforts to contact patients are documented in the medical record.
• Copies of letters and signed certified mail receipts are placed in the medical record.

For more information, speak with a Risk Management Consultant.

Tungate Professional Insurance Services, Greater Lansing, is proud to represent The Doctors Company / American Physicians. This article is used with permission from The Doctors Company / American Physicians.

How to Avoid the 2012 eRx Payment Adjustment
Eligible professionals – An eligible professional can avoid the 2012 eRx Payment if (s)he:
• Is not a physician (MD, DO, or podiatrist), nurse practitioner, or physician assistant as June 30, 2011 based on the primary taxonomy codes in NPPES.

• Does not have prescribing privileges: Must report (G8644) at least one time on an eligible claim prior to June 30, 2011
• Does not have a least 100 cases containing an encounter code in the measure denominator:
• Becomes a successful e-prescriber; and
• Reports the eRx measure for at least 10 unique eRx events for patients in the denominator of the measure
Group Practices – A group that is participating in eRx GPRO I or GRPO II during 2011, the group practice must become a successful e-prescriber
• Depending on the group’s size, the group practice must report the eRx measure for 75-2,500 unique eRx events for patient in the denominator of the measure

For additional information, please visit the “Getting Started” webpage at http://www.cms.gov/erxinceinte on the CMS website.
Medical Management Systems of Michigan can assist you with e prescribing and many other Physicians quality incentive programs that can pay you as much 10% more on your claims or thousands of dollars of incentive money, We can assist you with incentive programs such as:

 Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and Physician Group Incentive Program (PGIP)
 National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Accreditation
 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI)
 EHR meaningful use, reporting and attestation
MMS is offering guidance with Electronic Health Records (EHR). We can help you assess your options and save you money.

Visit LynneVanDeventer.com for additional marketing ideas

Thinking of selling your home?

Lynne VanDeventer

First Impressions

A spruced up house makes a great first impression on potential buyers. An attractive property grabs their attention and makes them excited about finding a house that looks and feels well-cared for. Because buyers know they’ll encounter fewer problems if they buy it, your house becomes more appealing and stands out from the competition. So if you prepare your home correctly, you’ll save time selling it when it’s on the market.

A good first impression makes an impact on a number of levels. It’s not just the way your house looks to potential buyers, but how it feels and smells to them, how their friends and family will react, how they imagine it would be to live there.

With simple improvements throughout your house, you can grab the attention of potential buyers and help them see why your house is right for them.

Looking for more ideas? Get a FREE report from my Website here.

Thanks, Lynne

Roth IRAs in Brief. A Roth IRA is subject to many of the same rules that govern traditional IRAs.  For example, the penalty tax for excess contributions, the prohibition against pledging or borrowing from the account, and the rules regarding the types of assets that can be contributed apply to Roth IRAs as they do to traditional IRAs.

However, several unique, generally favorable provisions apply to Roth IRAs.  These features include relaxed required minimum distribution rules, the ability to make contributions after age 70 ½ and no taxation of earnings.  Traditional IRA holders can often benefit from these features by converting to Roth IRAs.

Conversion from Traditional IRAs and Qualified Plans. Converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can allow post-conversion income to grow tax-free in the Roth.  For 2009, a conversion (or ‘rollover’) was permitted only if your AGI, calculated with specified modifications, did not exceed $100,000.  Any funds rolled over were taxed under the traditional IRA distribution rules, but the 10% early withdrawal penalty will not apply.

For tax years beginning after 2009, the $100,000 modified AGI limit on conversions of traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs is eliminated.   Additionally, the payment of income tax on conversions in 2010 can be deferred until 2011 and 2012.   These law changes can result in a significant tax deferral now and significant tax savings in the future.

Qualified Plan Note: eligible distributions from 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans may also be rolled directly to a Roth IRA.  Rules very similar to those for conversions from traditional IRAs apply.

Impact of Future Tax Rates. Conversion to a Roth IRA is beneficial only if the future tax savings (when funds are withdrawn) are greater than the tax paid on conversion.  While it’s best to “run the numbers,” some rules of thumb can be used:  (1) the longer you plan to wait before withdrawing funds, the more likely the future tax savings will outweigh tax on conversion; (2) if future tax on traditional IRA distributions will be at a lower rate than the tax rate effective on conversion, paying the tax to convert to a Roth may be a mistake.

Absent Congressional action, after 2010 the tax brackets above the 15% bracket will revert (increase) to pre-2001 levels.  That means the top four brackets will be 39.6%, 36%, 31% and 28%, instead of the current top four brackets of 35%, 33%, 28%, and 25%.  Currently it is difficult to predict who will get hit by possibly even higher rates.  A reversion to pre-2001 rates or even higher rates will increase the potential future benefit of a 2009 or 2010 Roth conversion.

Taking Action. Individuals who intend to take advantage of the new Roth IRA conversion option in 2010 should consider the following income tax planning strategies:

…Taxpayers who are eligible to make deductible IRA contributions for 2009 should do so.  They’ll reduce their 2009 tax bill and, if they make the conversion to a Roth IRA during 2010, they won’t have to pay back the tax savings until 2011 and 2012.

…Taxpayers who were not eligible to make deductible IRA contributions in the past (or made a tax-free rollover from a qualified plan to an IRA) should consider making nondeductible IRA contributions for 2009.  The conversion generally is taxable only to the extent of earnings on the nondeductible contributions.  However, if the taxpayer previously made deductible IRA contributions, or rolled over qualified plan funds to an IRA, complex rules determine the taxable amount

…Some taxpayers plan to make large conversions in 2010 but plan to opt out of the deferral of tax until 2011 and 2012 because they fear they will be in a higher tax bracket in those years than in 2010.

…Taxpayers who have never opened a traditional IRA because they weren’t able to make deductible contributions should consider opening such an IRA for 2009 and making the largest allowable nondeductible contribution they can afford, e.g., even by taking funds out of savings.  If they convert the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2010 they will have to include in gross income only that part of the amount converted that is attributable to income earned after the IRA was opened, presumably a small amount.  In 2010 and later years, they could continue to make nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA and then roll the contributed amount over into a Roth IRA.

IN CONCLUSION

IRAs continue to be a valuable tax deferral and retirement planning tool, but the complexity of IRA rules, the multiple IRA options available, and the numerous other qualified plan choices can be daunting.  With expert advice and planning, you can make the rules and options work to your benefit.  Please contact us with any questions.

This article provides general information and may not apply to your particular situation.  In addition, this article does not offer legal or tax advice.

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued regulations that require written advice regarding tax matters to meet very detailed and comprehensive requirements before it can be relied upon by a taxpayer to avoid  penalties that might apply if the tax benefits or results discussed in this article are disallowed.  Compliance with these rigorous standards and requirements exceeds the scope of this article.  Consequently, the analysis and advice contained in this article regarding federal tax matters is not intended to be used, and may not be relied upon by you or anyone else, for the purpose of avoiding any federal tax penalty.

Handling Curbside Consultations

A risk management tip for medical professionals from American Physicians

Physicians often seek insight about a patient from another doctor who has not seen the patient or reviewed the medical record. When you are the doctor being asked for one of these ‘curbside consultations’ you need to be careful not to cross into territory that could imply you have a physician-patient relationship with the patient in question. Following are steps you can take to help prevent this from happening:

• Never give specific treatment advice.
• Keep curbside consults brief and simple. For complex cases, a formal consultation should be obtained.
• Recommend a formal consultation when a curbside consultation is repeated on the same patient.
• Ask your colleague not to document the conversation or include your name in the medical record. If the discussion needs to be recorded, there may be a need for a formal consultation.
• Do not provide curbside consultations by e-mail. Doing so could imply that you had greater involvement in the patient’s care than intended and distribution of the information cannot be restricted.

Information obtained from: Journal of Healthcare Risk Management, Vol. 28, No. 1 pp. 27-29

Tungate Professional Insurance Services is proud to represent American Physicians Assurance Corporation. This tip is used with permission from American Physicians.

When you’re selling your home, the price you set is a critical factor in the return you’ll receive.

Lynne VanDeventer
Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood
3695 Okemos Road · Okemos, MI 48864
517-492-3274
lynnevanda@coldwellbanker.com

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