Health insurance reimbursement but not an actual HRA
I'm turning 26 next month and applying for coverage through the marketplace. I'm single and in Missouri. My employer is a smaller company and does not provide health insurance, but they offer reimbursement at 50% of your monthly premium up to $300 – that's how it's described in our handbook. My boss clarified that they don't have a formal HRA set up, just the reimbursement which is untaxed but added to our paycheck (same line as my phone reimbursement) after we submit a monthly paid receipt. She wasn't able to help me beyond that.
On the marketplace application, it asks if my employer offers an HRA. I selected yes, because even though they don't have an actual HRA, I'll still be receiving reimbursement, and there is no other field or question that asks about different types of reimbursement. Now I'm stumped by all of the questions about the HRA, which I apparently need an HRA offer letter to complete, but obviously I don't have that. It asks about a start and end date, a dollar amount, HRA type (Individual coverage HRA or Qualified Small Employer HRA), who can use the HRA, etc.
Questions:
Should I indicate that, yes, my employer offers and HRA to which I have opted in even though it's not actually an HRA? If yes, how the heck do I fill out the rest of the questions about the HRA? Which HRA type would I select? I won't know what my employer's reimbursement dollar amount will be until I've finished the application and selected a plan since they offer a 50% reimbursement up to $300. If I write $300 as the amount that my employer will give me monthly, will I end up with a huge premium?
I called the official marketplace help line and spoke with a representative, and they just told me to write the HRA start date as my first date of employment which was in 2022, the end date as 12/31/2024, and write $300 as the amount. I've read the entire article on HRAs on healthcare.gov, asked my mom who works in healthcare, etc., and I still don't know what to do. I'm worried about selecting the wrong thing and ending up with an astronomical premium or owing money when I file my taxes next year.
submitted by /u/yungfototakr
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