Q&A on the News

Q: I seem to recall hearing about new options for individuals without health insurance benefits at work. They were to be offered by clearinghouses that pooled individuals together for better rates. How is Georgia coming along in developing these?

— Beverly Martin, Milner

A: An aspect of the federal health care plan is a program that would pool individuals into groups to temporarily offer them health insurance until the full health care plan goes into effect, assuming it does, in 2014, Wayne Whitaker, a spokesman for the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office, told Q&A on the News in an e-mail. More information is available at www.healthcare.gov. "States have the option of setting up their own pooling plans or letting the feds handle it; Georgia chose the latter," he wrote.

Q: If someone receives a monetary settlement for pain and suffering, is it taxable? If that person has to pay the insurers back due to the incident, is it tax deductible? Where on the form does it go?

— S. Ellis, Atlanta

A: If you receive a settlement for physical injuries or physical sickness and did not take an itemized deduction for medical expenses related to this injury in prior years, the full amount is non-taxable and generally does not need to be reported on your income tax return, Mark Green, a spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service in Georgia, told Q&A on the News. He said more information is available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4345.pdf.