The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of the Treasury (DOT), Employee Benefits Security Administration (ESA), and Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) recently issued a final ruling on the use of employer-funded health accounts. Effective January 1, 2020, employers of all sizes that do not offer a group coverage plan may use HRAs as a vehicle to help employees pay for health insurance premiums. This ruling extends beyond the current scope of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), which allows businesses to offer employer-funded accounts for employees to apply to out-of-pocket medical expenses and now allows employees to pay for insurance premiums.
The new ruling is expected to affect more than 800,000 employers and 11 million employees, making it a far-reaching update to the current system. Under the guidance, employers may offer two new types of HRAs:
The Benefits
Considerations:
To assist employers, the DOL issued this Individual Coverage HRA Model Notice: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/rules-and-regulations/completed-rulemaking/1210-AB87/individual-coverage-model-notice.pdf .
This notice is not exhaustive. If you would like more information on how your business might benefit from an ICHRA, give the professionals in our office a call. We can go over your options and determine if you satisfy the ACA’s affordability and minimum value requirements.
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