Is your employer allowed to charge a processing fee for HRA reimbursement claims?
The HRA set up by my employer requires me to submit a claim each time I want reimbursement for eligible medical care our group plan didn't cover fully, such as co-pays, deductibles, etc. They charge a processing fee on each claim submitted for reimbursement, which they deduct from the reimbursement total.
I know ERISA regulates that employee benefit plans cannot be administered in a way that requires payment of a fee as a condition to making a claim or appeal. All medical claims processed through our group plan with Empire never have processing fees, so everything pre-HRA submission follows the ERISA regulation.
Note: employees have to maintain enrollment in the employer group plan to utilize the HRA. As well, the employer does not offer the alternative HRA options of automatic reimbursement directly to the medical care provider, or provide employees with a HRA debit card for expenses, submitting claims for reimbursement is the only option.
In your experience is it normal to have additional processing fees for HRA claims? If the ERISA regulation applies to the HRA as part of our group plan, I'm concerned my employer may be in the wrong by requiring a processing fee for each reimbursement claim.
submitted by /u/drjameskmantleray
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