ICHRAs Are The Future Of Healthcare*
Business Owners, This Is For You! Both Small & Large Businesses.
An ICHRA is like giving employees a debit card to help pay for health insurance.
Employers provide a monthly allowance for tax-free reimbursement of eligible premiums and expenses instead of buying traditional group policies. Employees use that allowance to purchase individual ACA-compliant health insurance plans. Reimbursement requires qualifying coverage and documentation; it is not unrestricted cash.
You can transition from a group plan to an ICHRA during the year. You do not necessarily have to wait until your current group contract ends, but notice requirements, cancellation terms and coverage start dates must be coordinated.
Employees newly gaining access to an ICHRA may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) outside Open Enrollment. The enrollment window is tied to that qualifying event—generally 60 days before or after eligibility begins—not a new SEP automatically available every month.
With an ICHRA, employees can choose among ACA-compliant individual plans available where they live, rather than being limited to one employer-selected group insurer. Carrier participation and plan availability vary by county, service area and enrollment eligibility.
The burden of selecting a single group health insurance company is removed. Employees can select coverage based on their preferences, available networks and budget.
Example
If you have 10 employees and each has access to 10 different ACA health insurance companies in their local service area, each employee working for the same employer could choose a different company.
10 employees, each selecting a different health company. This gives the employer and employees greater flexibility.
You could save $30,000 this year to a few hundred thousand dollars, depending on how large the business is!
Potential savings are illustrative, not guaranteed. Actual savings depend on your current group costs, employee locations, ICHRA contributions and the plans selected. A business-specific comparison is needed.
This Is A True À-La-Carte System!
*Mel Gambrell’s perspective. Read HealthCare.gov’s ICHRA guidance for eligibility, enrollment timing and reimbursement rules.
