Can an employer reimburse for health insurance costs?
Looking to avoid the hassle of traditional group insurance plans, and wondering “Can an employer reimburse for health insurance costs?” Health reimbursement arrangements make it possible! Employers now have more flexibility when it comes to reimbursing employees for health insurance, tax-free. Sound too good to be true? Let’s discuss your options!
A brief HRA history
Tax-free reimbursement used to be a common practice for small business owners. However, when the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) passed in 2010, the law had the unintended consequence of disallowing tax-free reimbursement for small companies. The primary hang-up was an interpretation that any company that reimbursed for health insurance (including individual) was technically a group plan. According to the ACA, group plans are required to provide preventive care at no cost. Since employers that reimbursed for individual plans did not meet the preventive care requirements, they would be subject to group plan penalties of up to $100 per employee per day.
While Congress addressed the hotly debated topic of “Obamacare,” little was done to help fix the problem. In late 2015 the IRS started enforcing the provision and leveraging hefty fines and penalties for companies caught reimbursing for individual health insurance.
In late 2016, the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law by President Obama that opened up the doors for health reimbursement arrangements for small employers. Three years later, regulatory rule updates allowed for this same treatment to be used by employers of all sizes and with a greater degree of flexibility.
How HRAs work to reimburse for health insurance costs
An HRA allows business owners to reimburse their employees on a tax-free basis for health insurance premiums or qualified medical expenses. Most importantly, HRAs allow business owners to avoid the penalties and fees and taxes we discussed.
The mechanics of an HRA are surprisingly simple. At a high-level, employees pay for their own health expenses and employers reimburse them. Here’s how it works:
Employers design their plan and set reimbursement allowances
Employees pay for their own health insurance and medical bills
Employees provide proof of their expenses
Employers reimburse the employee up to the set limit
Types of HRAs available
QSEHRA: a Qualified Small Employer HRA allows small employers to set aside a fixed amount of money each month that employees can use to purchase individual health insurance or use on medical expenses, tax-free. The key thing to remember here is that all employees must be reimbursed at the same level. The QSEHRA is designed for employers with less than 50 employees to reimburse for premiums and medical expenses if the plan allows.
ICHRA: an Individual Coverage HRA allows employers of any size to reimburse any amount per month for healthcare expenses incurred by employees on a tax-free basis, starting at any time of the year. The distinguishing element of this HRA is that employees can be divided into an unlimited number of classes, like hourly vs. salary or even based on location, and be reimbursed at different levels. The ICHRA is for companies of any size. There are no limits to how much an employer can offer for reimbursement.
How can an employer reimburse for health insurance costs?
With Take Command’s platform, employees can just snap a picture of their receipts for reimbursement. Additionally, employers have a lot of flexibility over what is reimbursed. Understanding these options can go a long way towards helping the employer achieve their objectives and keep their budget in check, so let’s look at those!
Insurance Premiums Only: Employers can limit reimbursements to only go towards eligible premium expenses. Typically, this refers to individual health insurance premiums but could also include eligible dental premiums, vision premiums, etc. as long as the employee has Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) for QSEHRA or a qualified health plan for ICHRA.
Insurance Premiums and Medical Expenses: Most employers choose to allow medical expenses to be reimbursed too. Note: Employers can choose to exclude categories of expenses (i.e., “prescriptions”) as long as the exclusion is applied fairly to everyone.
TCH can help you reimburse for health insurance costs!
If you are searching for a hassle-free way to offer affordable benefits, an HRA is certainly worth considering. If you’re ready to get started, setting up a small business HRA is a breeze! Our team is here to help clear up any confusion surrounding small business health insurance options. Don’t hesitate to give us a shout via our chat feature on the website. We would be happy to help.
