Joanne M. Murray, Esq., was elected to serve as Secretary of the Bucks County Bar Association at its annual meeting in December.
Murray concentrates her practice in the areas of business law, business transactions, contracts, banking and finance.  She is an active member of the Bucks County Bar Association, serving as Chair of its Women Lawyers Division and on various of its other committees.  She is co-founder and past chair of its Business Law Section.  Murray is also a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Philadelphia Bar Association.  She serves on the boards of the Bucks County Symphony and the Bucks County Children’s Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 11, 2010:  Susan Maslow & Patricia Collins gave a presentation to the Family Practice and Emergency Medical Residents at Aria Health in Langhorne, PA on Consent & Confidentiality Issues that arise in treating minors. 

Susan Maslow, a partner of the Firm, was Moderator of the 2010 Bucks Fever FilmFest's panel discussion regarding "Social Media and the Independent Film Community on October 10, 2010.

The Bucks Fever FilmFest is an annual, juried, short (30 minutes and under) film competition. Winning  films submitted by high school, college and emerging filmmakers are screened at the County Theater in Doylestown, Pa. The FilmFest encourages and supports the growth of the local filmmaking community by providing networking and educational opportunities to area filmmakers and a venue   for the community to view their work.

 Joanne M. Murray, Esq., along with Francis J. Sullivan, Esq., will present at the Bucks County Bar Association Annual Bench Bar Conference this Friday, September 24th.  The program, entitled “Protecting the Attorney Client Privilege or Things that Go Bump in the Night: Metadata and Other Horror Stories,” will give an overview of the ethical duties which attorneys have when sending or receiving electronic documents that may contain metadata, or information beyond what is in the visible text. The Bench Bar Conference is being held this year at Grand Cascades Lodge at Crystal Springs, Hamburg, NJ from September 23 – 25.

 Sue Maslow, a Partner of the Firm, and Associate Tim White published an Article in the April, 2010 issue of "New Jersey Lawyer" Magazine.  The Article, entitled "Enlightened Capitalism & L3Cs" highlights the beneifits of the newly authorized low profit limited liability companies (L3Cs) and advocates for the adoption of L3C entities in New Jersey. 

This article was originally published in the April 2010 issue of "New Jersey Lawyer" Magazine, a publicaiton of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and is reprinted here with permission. 

 

 

To read the full article:  Enlightened Capitalism and L3Cs

Congress Passes "Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act"
 
After much debate and public discussion, Congress passed the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010" on March 23, 2010, with some changes made through the reconciliation process on March 26, 2010.  Businesses and individuals need to be aware of how the Act will affect healthcare coverage.  This Client Alert will focus on some of the more significant changes in the Act.   You are encouraged to consult with your attorney to determine how the Act affects you or your business.  
 
Changes Effective in 2010:  

-Small employers will receive a tax credit for contributions to health insurance for their employees where the employer offers health insurance to its employees and contributes at least half the total premium cost.  The business must have no more than 25 full-time equivalent employees and the average annual full-time wages must be no more than $50,000.  The credit phases out as average wages increase from $25,000 to $50,000 and as the number of full time employees increases from 10 to 25.  The credit can be worth as much as 35% of premiums paid by the employer.  (Note that, in 2014, the credit can be worth as much as 50% of premiums paid by the employer.)  The IRS has stated that the credit is available for premiums paid in 2010, prior to enactment of the Act.  Owners are ignored in both the number of employees and the calculation of the average wage for purposes of this provision.

-Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions in children.

-Families can include their adult children, up to the time a child attains the age of 27, in their coverage.

-Insurance companies can no longer impose lifetime caps on coverage.

-There are limits on the ability of insurance companies to impose annual caps on coverage.

-Early retiree health benefits:  Effective June 23, 2010 and expiring on January 1, 2014 (or when the $5 billion set aside to cover the cost is depleted), payments will be made to employer-sponsored health plans on behalf of an early retiree.  An early retiree is an individual aged 55 and older who is neither an active employee nor eligible for Medicare.

-Medicare beneficiaries will receive a rebate check to account for the Medicare Part D coverage gap, otherwise known as the "donut hole."

-Tax credits are available for investments in new therapies to prevent, diagnose and treat acute and chronic diseases.

Changes Effective in 2014:

-Insurance Exchanges:  States are required to establish Insurance Exchanges to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans by individuals and small group markets.  Individuals will be able to enroll in plans through the Insurance Exchange.

-Employers with more than 50 employees will pay penalties if they do not provide coverage.  Employers with less than 50 employees will be exempt from this penalty.

-Insurance companies may no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions in adults.

-Insurance companies may no longer impose annual caps on coverage.

-Individuals will be eligible for tax credits for health insurance premiums paid through Insurance Exchanges where the individual's income is above Medicaid eligibility and below four times the federal poverty level, and where they are not eligible for other coverage.  Individuals who do not qualify for this credit may, under certain circumstances, be able to use their employer premium contribution ("vouchers") to obtain insurance through an Insurance Exchange.

-Individuals are required to obtain acceptable health insurance or pay a penalty.  Individuals will not have to pay the penalty if affordable coverage is not available.

-Insurance companies may not impose a waiting period in excess of 90 days.

-Insurance companies may not drop coverage because an individual chose to participate in a clinical trial.

Coming Attractions (changes after 2014):

-States may allow large employers to offer coverage to employees through the Insurance Exchanges.

-Tax on "Cadillac plans":  Where the annual premium exceeds $10,200 for single coverage and $27,500 for family coverage, the Act imposes a 40% tax on insurance companies and plan administrators.

-The Medicare Part D "donut hole" will be eliminated. 

 Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP can provide guidance to our business clients and individual clients with respect to reviewing their  healthcare coverage needs in light of recent legislative changes.  Please contact Patricia Collins, Esquire at (215) 230-7500 to discuss any questions you have regarding the above issue or to schedule an appointment.
 

 

John D. Trainer, Of Counsel for the Firm, has again been tapped to teach a five-week seminar on Estate Planning & Administration at Delaware Valley College’s Center for Learning in Retirement (“CLR”), beginning March 25, 2010 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  Trainer’s annual class provides presentations and discussions focusing on what criteria are considered necessary to prepare estate documents, in order to minimize federal and state death taxes.  Also covered are: recent repeal of the Federal Estate Tax and how this will impact estate planning; powers of attorney; the benefits of living wills; and processes involved in the administration of a decedent’s estate.  Partner Michael W. Mills and Paralegal Sheila Kyle, also of Antheil Maslow and MacMinn, LLP, will instruct during the course.

Trainer, Of Counsel for Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP, concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate administration, and elder law, and is a member and past president of the Bucks County Bar Association, a former member of the Disciplinary Board and Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, and serves on the Bucks County Estate Planning Committee.  He received a Bachelor of Arts from Bucknell University, and his Law Degree from Villanova Law School.

Michael Mills, a member of the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, serves as a Partner for Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP, specializing in the areas of taxation, estate planning and administration, estate and trust litigation, family wealth preservation, business succession planning, and the tax aspects of business formation, financing, reorganization, and acquisition transactions.  He received a B.S. in Business & Economics from Lehigh University, and also obtained a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, and an LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law.  Additionally, Mills is a Certified Public Accountant, and is a member of the AICPA and PICPA.

Celebrating over 15 years in business, Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is a full-service law firm with practice areas in Business & Finance; Death & Serious Injury;  Estates & Trusts; Health Care; Labor & Employment; Litigation; Nonprofits; Real Estate & Land Use; and Tax.  The Firm works with high net worth individuals, small to mid-sized, privately-held companies, nonprofits and heath care organizations in the Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey areas.  Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

February, 2010:  Bill Antheil and Joanne Murray attended the Toy Industry Association annual Toy Fair in NYC.  Toy Fair is the industry’s biggest event, featuring manufacturers, testing companies and other stakeholders in the field of children’s products, as well as educational seminars on toy safety and other topics.

In addition, Joanne Murray participated in the 17th Annual Meeting and Training Symposium of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO).  The event offered the opportunity to keep up to date on the latest developments in federal and state product safety laws and regulatory activities.  Speakers included CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum, CPSC General Counsel Cheryl A. Falvey, Esquire, and other top-level CPSC policy-makers.  Joanne found this Symposium to be a wealth of information which keeps her abreast of the CPSC's new initiatives including, of course, enacting new regulations under the CPSIA.

On January 12, 2010: Patty Collins, an Associate of the firm, participated in a HITECH/HIPAA Training Seminar handling a number of current issues surrounding recently heightened Healh Information Technology Privacy and Security Regulations and their effect on Medical Practices, specifically.  The Seminar was well attended and covered a variety of areas, including: 

1.) How the HITECH Act changes HIPAA and the FTC Red Flag Rule
2.) The effects on policies & procedures concerning Protected Health Information (PHI)
3.) Business Associates Agreements and who is required to have one
4.) Penalties & fines for non-compliance
5.) In-office training solutions for policy & procedure implementation
6.) Outsourced solutions that help ensure compliance 

Participants included:

 Patricia Collins,
Attorney, Antheil Maslow & MacMinn Attorneys 
Law Firm specializing in Healthcare 

Heather McCloskey,
Principal, McCloskey Partners, LLC
HR consultants and HIPAA Compliance Trainer

Don Adriaansen,
Partner & Co-Founder, TITAN Mobile Shredding, LLC
NAID AAA Certified Document Destruction Company
Authorized Compliance Facilitator

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