Got help paying for health care? Watch your mailbox

WASHINGTON — If you're among the millions of consumers who got financial help for health insurance last year under President Barack Obama's law, better keep an eye on your mailbox.

The administration said Monday it has started sending out tax reporting forms that you'll need to fill out your 2014 return. Like W-2s for health care, they're for people who got health insurance tax credits provided under the law.

Because this is the first time Americans will experience the complex connections between the health care law and taxes, there's concern that some people may not realize the new forms are important, and that they do need to open that envelope. Some consumers may not know what to do with the paperwork.

Called 1095-A, the forms list who in each household got subsidized coverage through the health insurance exchanges, and how much the government paid each month to help with premiums.

You don't actually file the form with your tax return, but you can't complete your return without the information it contains.

Taxpayers, or their tax preparers, will use the financial details to fill out yet another form — 8962. That one is used to determine whether people received the right amount of assistance that they were legally entitled to.

The amount of the tax credit is based on a formula that takes into account income, household size, and health insurance costs in your community.

Those who got too much of a subsidy will get their tax refunds reduced by the IRS. For example, you can get dinged if your income went up during the year, and you didn't realize you had to report that to HealthCare.gov or your state insurance exchange.

If you received less of a subsidy than you were entitled to, the IRS will owe you instead.

The Health and Human Services department said it has started sending out forms to consumers in states where the federal government is running the insurance markets. The first batches should start arriving by midweek. The forms can also be downloaded from your HealthCare.gov account.

States running their own insurance exchanges — including California and New York — will send out the forms separately. But they still must meet a Feb. 2 postmark deadline.

Insurers say the feds have told them that they expect to mail about 4.5 million forms and they're tackling the massive job state by state.

Tax preparation companies are seeing a whole new line of business in the health care law. But insurers are worried that perplexed consumers will pepper them with tax questions they're not qualified to answer. The health care law will mean lots more work for the IRS, and Commissioner John Koskinen is warning Congress that budget cuts could hamper taxpayer services this filing season.

The Obama administration has been trying to offer reassurance.

"In the coming weeks, HHS will work with other agencies, tax preparers and community organizations to arm ... consumers with the information they need to know as they prepare to file their taxes," Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said in a statement.

The health care law provides subsidized private health insurance for people who don't have access to coverage on the job. Funneling the subsidies through the tax system allowed the White House to claim that the law was "the largest tax cut for health care in American history." But the downside is it adds more complexity to a tax system that's already impenetrable for many people.

Here are some pointers for consumers:

— You may get more than one 1095-A. That could happen for any number of reasons, from having a baby to switching plans during the year. You'll need to keep all of them for filing your taxes.

— Contact HealthCare.gov or your state insurance exchange if you believe there is a mistake on your 1095-A. Minor issues such as misspellings should not cause big problems, but it may take some effort to resolve financial inaccuracies.

— If you got employer coverage part way through last year and were only in the insurance exchange for a few months, you will still need your 1095-A to account for the subsidies that you got.

— If you're used to filing Form 1040EZ, you can't do that any longer if you got subsidized health care. You'll have to file one of the longer forms instead.

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Associated Press Writer Alan Fram contributed to this report.

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Online:

HealthCare.gov — http://tinyurl.com/mp42ph7

IRS — http://tinyurl.com/nakgljp

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Obama seeks laws on data hacking, student privacy

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants Congress to pass legislation requiring companies to inform customers within 30 days if their data has been hacked, a move that follows high-profile breaches at retailers including Target, Home Depot and Neiman Marcus.

A White House official said Obama will announce the proposed legislation Monday, along with a measure aimed at preventing companies from selling student data to third parties and from using information collected in school to engage in targeted advertising.

Obama's proposals are part of a White House effort to preview components of the president's State of the Union address in the lead-up to the Jan. 20 speech. The official, who insisted on anonymity, was not authorized to discuss the proposed legislation by name ahead of Obama's speech at the Federal Trade Commission.

If passed by Congress, the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act would require U.S. companies to notify customers within 30 days of their personal information being compromised. Recent hackings have exposed the lack of uniform practices for alerting customers in the event of a breach.

The legislation would also make it a crime to sell customers' identities overseas.

Obama's proposals also follow last month's hacking at Sony Pictures Entertainment. The White House has blamed the cyber attack on North Korea and responded with new sanctions against the isolated nation.

In addition to the customer notification legislation, Obama will also ask lawmakers to pass the Student Digital Privacy Act. The measure would prohibit companies from selling student data to third parties, a move spurred by the increased use of technology in schools that can scoop up personal information.

The White House official said the proposed bill is based on a California statute pushed by Common Sense Media, a group that promotes privacy. The organization said the proliferation of online platforms, mobile applications, cloud computing and other technology allows businesses to collect sensitive data about students including contact information, academic records, and even what students eat for lunch or whether they ride the bus to school.

"We applaud President Obama for standing up for school children, who deserve the opportunity to use educational websites and apps to enrich their learning without fear that their personal information will be exploited for commercial purposes or fall into the wrong hands," Common Sense Media CEO James Steyer said in a statement.

The Center for Democracy & Technology also said it supports Obama's moves to protect the data, while pointing out that his administration still uses electronic surveillance for national security purposes.

"Even with these proposed reforms, we must not forget about government surveillance reform," said Nuala O'Connor, the group's president. "Without the end to the mass surveillance practices of the U.S. government, any privacy reform is woefully incomplete."

It's unclear whether the new Republican-led Congress will take up either of Obama's legislative proposals.

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Fox News guest derided for saying UK city 'totally Muslim'

LONDON — A news commentator who told Fox News that the British city of Birmingham is "totally Muslim" has apologized for the comments, which drew widespread online ridicule.

Steven Emerson, an American author whose website describes him as a leading authority on Islamic extremist networks, told Fox News in a live broadcast Sunday that in Britain "there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don't go in."

Emerson, who was discussing the recent terror attacks in Paris with host Jeanine Pirro, also claimed that in parts of London, "Muslim religious police" beat and injure "anyone who doesn't dress according to Muslim religious attire."

Official figures show that the number of Muslims in Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city, numbered at 234,411, or 22 percent of the city's population. That compares to 494,358 who described themselves as Christian.

Emerson quickly tweeted an apology saying his comments were "totally inaccurate." But his comments continued to draw derision online, spawning dozens of humorous reactions on social media.

Many posted absurd, fictitious claims and jokes about Islam and Birmingham with the hashtag #FoxNewsFacts, which was trending on Twitter on Monday. One Twitter user said Birmingham buildings wear burqas and posted a photo of a building covered in scaffolding.

"Bizarre. Ridiculous. Nonsense. These are the only words I can use to describe the statement made by Steve Emerson," said Birmingham lawmaker Shabana Mahmood. "His apology is welcome but frankly the fact that anyone in his line of work could even hold those views is concerning."

British Prime Minister David Cameron told ITV News he "choked on his porridge" when he heard about the claims. "This guy is clearly a complete idiot," he said.

Some 1,500 people have signed an online petition demanding an on-air apology to the city's residents.

Fox News did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

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Greek market fears ease over election

ATHENS, Greece — With less than two weeks to a general election, Greece's financial markets were steadying Monday — a sign investors are a little less concerned that the result could lead to the country dropping out of the euro.

By midafternoon in Athens, the yield on Greece's 10-year bond was down 0.66 percentage point at 9.32 percent. The main stock index was up 4.3 percent.

Despite the improvements, Greek bonds and shares are still faring worse than when the election was called at the end of 2014.

Opinion polls indicate the Jan. 25 election will see the anti-bailout Syriza party come first ahead of conservative prime minister Antonis Samaras' New Democracy.

However, easing market nerves somewhat, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said in a weekend interview that a government headed by his party would honor upcoming debt obligations in March. Many investors are worried that his left-wing party could unilaterally renege on the country's bailout loans.

Syriza is demanding that more than half of Greek bailout debt — totaling 240 billion euros ($283 billion) — be canceled, arguing that a sustained recovery after six years of recession is impossible otherwise.

Syriza would probably need to form a coalition to govern, but its chances of an outright win are increasing as voters focus on the two main parties and ignore alternatives.

"There are indications that the first two parties are pulling ahead ... leaving the small ones behind," Alexis Routzounis of the Kapa Research polling company told the Associated Press.

The polarizing electorate, he argued, reflected a clear choice facing voters between taking a consensual or confrontational line with bailout lenders.

"What counts now, is whether the 12-15 percent still undecided will split with the mindset of a two-party race, or scatter to the smaller parties they previously supported."

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Follow Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos

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AmerisourceBergen expands into animal health with $2.5B deal

Pharmaceutical distributor AmerisourceBergen will stretch its reach into veterinary medicine by spending about $2.5 billion to acquire MWI Veterinary Supply.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Monday that it will pay $190 in cash for each share of MWI, a premium of 8 percent to the closing price of MWI shares on Friday, the last trading day before the deal was announced. The deal value includes $76 million in MWI Veterinary Supply debt.

AmerisourceBergen distributes prescription drugs and also provides pharmaceutical consulting, but the Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, company had no animal health business before this deal. Boise, Idaho-based MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. sells animal health products in the United States and United Kingdom.

AmerisourceBergen CEO Steven H. Collis said in a statement that animal health is a growing market both in the United States and internationally, and adding that business is a "logical extension" of his company's pharmaceutical distribution work.

The companies expect to close the deal early this year. AmerisourceBergen will start its offer to buy the shares later this month, and the deal is contingent on MWI shareholders tendering at least a majority of the company's outstanding shares.

AmerisourceBergen said the deal will add about 8 cents per share to its fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings. It expects to finance the purchase with cash and long-term debt.

Shares of MWI jumped more than 8 percent, or $14.25, to trade at $189.90, or 10 cents short of the offer price, shortly after markets opened on Monday. AmerisourceBergen stock rose 16 cents to $93.16.

AmerisourceBergen shares had already jumped 28 percent last year, more than doubling the 11.4 percent advance of the Standard & Poor's 500 index. In contrast, MWI Veterinary Inc. shares fell slightly last year.

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GM's new electric could upstage Tesla _ and its own Volt

DETROIT — With the introduction of an affordable electric car that can go 200 miles on a single charge, General Motors is setting up a showdown with Tesla to sell an electric vehicle to the masses. It may also upstage a car of its own.

GM on Monday unveiled the Chevrolet Bolt, a $30,000 concept car that likely will go on sale in about two years. The range will make it attractive to many who wouldn't consider a fully electric car for fear of running out of juice. The rollout of the orange compact hatchback eclipsed GM's unveiling of a revamped Chevy Volt Monday at the Detroit auto show.

When the plug-in gas-electric hybrid Volt was introduced as a concept car in 2007, it was touted as an electric vehicle for everyone. It could go 38 miles on battery power, with a gas generator taking over to end worries of being stranded. But its $40,000 price tag hamstrung sales, even with a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Enter the Bolt, a hatchback with a hefty range and SUV-like cargo area and a price that's about the same as the average selling price of a new vehicle in America.

Technically the Bolt is a concept car, but GM plans to start selling a production version sometime in 2017. That sets up a showdown with Silicon Valley's Tesla Motors Inc., which plans to deliver a mass-market, 200-mile electric car for around $35,000 in the same time frame.

But the Bolt could leave the updated and restyled Volt behind, even though GM put a significant effort into increasing the Volt's electric range by one third to 50 miles and adding features that customers want, like five seats instead of four.

When the Bolt, which looks like a cross between a Volkswagen Golf and BMW's electric i3, rolled onto a stage at the Chevy exhibit, CEO Mary Barra said, "For most people, this car can be their daily drive."

Although hatchbacks typically haven't sold well in the U.S., GM says the Bolt's cargo space and high seating will give it extra appeal. Both those features are fueling a boom in crossover SUV sales. "What we really tried to do is take a lot of things that people love about owning a crossover and try and incorporate that," said Stuart Norris, director of advanced design for GM in Korea, where much of the Bolt was designed.

But that functionality is another reason that people may pick the Bolt over the Volt.

Four years ago then-GM CEO Dan Akerson predicted the company would sell 60,000 Volts per year. Instead, GM has sold about 73,000 total since the car went on the market. Its best sales year was 2012 at just over 23,400. Sales last year dropped 19 percent to just under 19,000.

Neither electric car is likely to get on car buyers' radar in the short run with gasoline running around $2.15 per gallon, said Jeff Schuster, executive vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, an industry consulting firm.

"Even the 200-mile thing, which is a remarkable achievement and something that certainly everyone has been chasing, I think it risks getting lost in the shuffle where gas prices are right now," he said.

Oil prices — and therefore gas prices — are volatile, so things could change by the time the Bolt hits the market. Schuster says if gas prices stay low, neither the Bolt nor the Volt will sell well. And that will buy other automakers time to catch up with their own 200-mile electrics. Plus, cheap gas means it will take longer for owners to recoup the premium paid for an electric car with savings from not buying gasoline.

GM has dialed back sales expectations for Volt 2.0, and executives are confident there's a market for it when it arrives in showrooms in the second half of next year. They're targeting the Volt not so much to those who want to save on gas but more toward those who bought the first generation — tech-saavy individuals who want to drive on electricity without worrying about running out of juice.

And gas prices inevitably will swing to the Volt's favor, says Steve Majoros, marketing director for Chevrolet cars. "I don't know where we're going to be six months from now," he said. "I don't think that gas price is the primary determining factor for a car like this."

The new Volt is sleeker and faster than the old one. It's 200 pounds lighter and the generator gets the equivalent of 41 miles per gallon on the highway rather than 38. Engineers also made it more aerodynamic, with grille shutters that close when air isn't needed and a spoiler built into the tail lights and rear hatch. It's zero-to-30 mph time is 2.6 seconds, 20 percent better than the old one. The car also comes with optional heated rear seats and the latest in active cruise control that can keep the car a safe distance from those in front of it.

The middle seat in the back isn't exactly optimal. A rider has to straddle a cup holder, and there's little headroom beneath the sloping roof.

Akerson at one point implored engineers to take $10,000 in cost out of the next generation. Barra won't say whether that was accomplished, although she said progress was made. GM also won't say how much it spent to develop the car or how much the new one will cost.

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Crayola sorry after hackers make its Facebook page off-color

EASTON, Pa. — Crayola is apologizing after hackers filled its Facebook page with off-color content.

The Forks Township, Pennsylvania-based crayon and marker manufacturer regained control of the page late Sunday and removed the offending posts.

Instead of burnt sienna and cerulean blue, the page's 2.4 million followers saw cartoon breasts and sophomoric sex jokes.

Crayola tweeted early Sunday evening that it was aware of the hack and "making every effort to stop the unauthorized posts." A few hours later, it had restored the page to its usual family friendliness.

"Our sincere apologies to our Facebook community for the inappropriate and offensive posts you may have seen here," the post said.

Crayola LLC is a subsidiary of Kansas City, Missouri-based Hallmark Cards Inc.

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Federal analysis: Arts, culture add $700B to US economy

WASHINGTON — Creative industries including Hollywood and broadcasting contribute more to the U.S. economy than previously thought, the government said Monday in its first official analysis of the arts and culture sector's economic value.

The report from the National Endowment for the Arts and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows arts and culture contributed more than $698 billion to the economy, which is about 4.32 percent of U.S. goods and services. The study of the creative sector's contribution to U.S. gross domestic product is based on 2012 data, the most recent figures available, and includes nonprofit, for-profit and government-funded programs.

Six industries account for the bulk of arts and culture production, according to the analysis. They include broadcasting, movies and videos, publishing, retail sales, performing arts and advertising. Analysts found that 4.7 million workers were employed in arts and culture production. Looking back more than a decade, the creative sector's production hit its peak in 2002.

Compared with other sectors of the economy in 2012, arts and culture surpassed construction by $112 billion, as well as transportation, travel and tourism and agriculture. But the creative sector was smaller than the health care and retail industries when compared with their economic production.

"It's a formidable presence from the economic point of view," said Jane Chu, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. "Here is an opportunity to understand how the arts infuse our lives."

The new findings are significantly larger than a preliminary estimate of arts production released in 2013. That estimate showed creative industries generated about $504 billion in the U.S. economy. The new analysis adds architectural services, online ticket vendors and more "entertainment originals" in movies, TV and book publishing to the creative industries that were not included in the previous estimate.

Arts and culture also contribute to a trade surplus with more exports than imports from other nations, said Sunil Iyengar, research director for the National Endowment for the Arts.

"A lot of consumption is going on outside our borders of American-made products — home-grown art, if you will," he said. "So that's about $25 billion of trade surplus, and that's rare for many industries and sectors within the U.S. economy."

Additional studies being released by the endowment examine arts participation by state and barriers to participation.

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National Endowment for the Arts: http://arts.gov/

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Follow Brett Zongker at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

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Court won't hear free speech challenge to metals dealers law

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won't consider the constitutionality of an Ohio law that bars precious metals dealers from advertising without a license.

The justices on Monday declined to take up an appeal from Liberty Coins, a gold and silver dealer that claims the law violates the free speech rights of businesses.

Ohio officials say the 1996 law was enacted to protect consumers from theft and help police track down stolen wedding rings, gold bracelets and other items resold at stores that buy gold and silver merchandise.

A federal judge in 2012 ruled the law unconstitutional because the state failed to prove the license requirement was effective in curbing theft, fraud and terrorism. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling last year.

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Massachusetts gas prices are down another 11 cents

BOSTON — Another week means another double-digit plunge in the cost of a gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts.

AAA Northeast reported Monday that the price of a gallon of self-serve, regular dropped 11 cents in the past week to an average of $2.25.

Prices in Massachusetts have now fallen for 18 consecutive weeks.

Bay State prices are now 43 cents lower than a month ago and $1.19 lower than a year ago. The price, however, is 12 cents per gallon above the national average.

AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $2.05 and as high as $2.89 per gallon.

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