Smart Exercise

Pumping Up the Brain?

A recent issue of Smithsonian Magazine explored the question: Can low-voltage doses of electricity transmitted through hair, skin and skull directly into particular regions of the brain make already healthy people sharper and/or more alert?

The article discusses Aron Barbey, director of the University of Illinois Decision Neuroscience Lab, and his experiments with Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation (tDCS). Sounds like something right of a science fiction movie!


Okay, I doubt it looks anything like this. More like...



Yeah, way creepier. Anyway, back to the story...

While this tDCS research is still in its infancy, there is some limited evidence that it appears to recruit additional neurons toward specific tasks such as cognition and memory. While it is hard to fathom the idea that shopping malls of the future might have brain charging kiosks, perhaps this research lays groundwork for such a fantastic vision.

But, what does this have to do with exercise and fitness?

In a new study of tDCS, part of the protocol involves subjects undergoing physical fitness and diet training. The studies have found that "exercise on its own has already proven at least as effective as tDCS in enhancing cognitive performance."

In other words, working out makes you smarter!



The article states that, "According to Barbey, exercise has been especially impressive effect on executive functions." Apparently intensive exercise increases executive function for 20 to 30 minutes after the exercise session! Surely, many of us have our own anecdotal experience with this in this is just a case of science confirming what we already intuit.

For more, see Plug in Your Brain, Smithsonian Magazine, May 2016.

As for me, I'm going to go for a run and solve a Rubik's cube.

What If You Get Public Exchange Notices?

You're Not Required to Do Anything

You may have heard that the 38 federally run public exchanges are preparing to send employer notifications for employees who have enrolled for individual coverage AND have claimed APTC under the Affordable Care Act. You can relax (a little) because you may not have to do anything at all other than file these notices.

What The Heck is APTC?!

Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) are a fancy name for the much-ballyhooed subsidy that many (approximately 3.5 million) people received this past year when enrolling in coverage through the Excange. As a part of the enrollment process, these individuals provided the name and address of their employer along with the rest of their application data. It is this employer data which is being used to send you (the employer) these notices.

How Will I Receive This Notice?

That's the million dollar question. Not the 'how', as that will be via good old-fashioned mail. Perhaps a better question is, "WILL I actually receive the notice?!" If you are an employer with multiple locations, or a different corporate address from the primary work location, will your employees have remembered to list the correct address during a very confusing and frustrating enrollment process? I foresee that there will be MANY instances in which these notices never arrive. What then? There isn't guidance yet on this particular question, but I have some recommendations for my clients which I'm happy to share. But first, let's assume that you DO receive the notices.

It's important for you to know that employers are not required to respond to this notice, but there may be reasons to do so. Appeals may:

• Help employees avoid an accumulating repayment obligation to the IRS for a wrongfully claimed subsidy
• Lead to less interaction with the IRS over 1095-C filings and a smoother reporting process overall

Whoa! Appeal?! Appeal WHAT?!

Consider that, up until this point, whether an employee received subsidy or not was based solely on unverified information in their Exchange application. They could be attesting that they were not eligible or were offered coverage. They could have misunderstood their eligibility or their cost share. The purpose of the notices is to make employers aware of what information was provided. You may have employees who could face having to repay their subsidy amount to the IRS. And we all know how fun it is to have an "Accounts Payable" with the IRS!

If you want to help employees without the time and expense of appealing the notices, consider contacting those who appear to have claimed APTCs mistakenly. But do so with caution. Do not discourage anyone from obtaining an APTC or express a negative view about an employee claiming an APTC. And remember employers cannot retaliate against an employee who obtains an APTC.

Whether you plan to appeal the notices or not, you should prepare for their receipt. Expect employees to make errors in filing out the employer address section of the application, and instruct mailroom staff and other possible recipients to be on the lookout for notices and to forward them to the appropriate location. Remember above all that these notices contain confidential information! But if you anticipate that the notices can arrive at different locations, having them collected at a central location allows you to anticipate the amount of interaction you may have with the IRS over your 1095-C fillings.

Drop us a line if you have questions, and good luck out there!

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