The Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Department of Labor (DOL), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Departments) released their proposed rule regarding health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and other account-based group health plans. The DOL also issued a news release and fact sheet on the proposed rule.
Topics: HRAs, HRA, Qualified Small Employer HRA, QSE HRA, Compliance Advisor
Trying to decide which of the many employer-sponsored benefits out there to offer employees can leave an employer feeling lost in a confusing bowl of alphabet soup—HSA? FSA? DCAP? HRA? What does it mean if a benefit is “limited” or “post-deductible”? Which one is use-it-or-lose-it? Which one has a rollover? What are the limits on each benefit?—and so on.
Topics: FSA, HRA, HSA, employee benefit plans, Flexible Benefits
In a world of insurance and acronyms, the term “HRA” is thrown around a lot, but it has a variety of meanings.
HRA can mean health reimbursement account, heath reimbursement arrangement, or health risk assessment, and all of those mean something different. I want to be clear that in the following article I am going to be discussing the use of health reimbursement accounts with fully-insured health plans. We can leave the other meanings of HRA for another time.
Topics: health reimbursement account, HRA, UBA Health Plan Survey, employee benefit trends
With health care costs and insurance premiums continuing to rise, employers are looking for ways to reduce their insurance expenses. That usually means increasing medical plan deductibles. According to the latest UBA Health Plan Survey, the average in-network single medical plan deductible increased from $2,031 in 2015 to $2,127 in 2016. But shifting costs to employees can be detrimental to an employer’s efforts to attract and retain top talent. Employers are looking for solutions that reduce their costs while minimizing the impact on employees.
Topics: health reimbursement arrangements, health savings accounts, HRA, HSA, UBA Health Plan Survey, health care benchmarking
Recently, the Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) issued FAQs About Affordable Care Act Implementation Part 35. The FAQ covers a new HIPAA special enrollment period, an update on women's preventive services that must be covered, and clarifying information on qualifying small employer health reimbursement arrangements (QSE HRAs).
Topics: HIPAA, group health insurance, health reimbursement arrangements, HRA, Danielle Capilla, 21st Century Cures Act, Qualified Small Employer HRA, benefits enrollment, women's preventive services
On December 13, 2016, former President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law. The Cures Act has numerous components, but employers should be aware of the impact the Act will have on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, as well as provisions that will impact how small employers can use health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). There will also be new guidance for permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). We review the implications with HRAs below; for a discussion of all the implications, view UBA’s Compliance Advisor, “21st Century Cares Act”.
Topics: ACA, premium subsidies, health reimbursement arrangements, HRA, Affordable Care Act, health care cost, 21st Century Cures Act, Qualified Small Employer HRA, insurance premium reimbursement
We recently took a look nationwide at the best and worst health savings accounts (HSAs) for singles and families. When you slice the UBA survey data by industry, some big differences emerge there as well.
Topics: health care costs, health reimbursement arrangements, health savings accounts, HRA, HSA, account-based plans
We’ve just released the latest findings from the UBA Health Plan Survey related to how health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) are being used among employers. (Spoiler alert: California employers lead the way with the most generous account-based plans.)
Topics: health savings account, health reimbursement arrangements, HRA, HSA, UBA Health Plan Survey
Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), health savings accounts (HSAs) and health care flexible spending accounts (HFSAs) are generally referred to as account-based plans. That is because each participant has their own account, at least for bookkeeping purposes. Under the tax rules, amounts may be contributed to these accounts (with certain restrictions) and used for health care on a tax-favored basis.
Topics: health plan benchmarking, PPACA Affordable Care Act, health savings account, health reimbursement arrangements, HRA, HSA, UBA 2014 Health Plan Survey, health care flexible spending account, health plan cost trends, HFSA
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a final rule that clarifies various topics relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and premium tax credit eligibility provisions. Mirroring guidance from IRS Notice 2015-87, the final rule clarifies that health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) contributions by an employer that may be used to pay premiums for an eligible employer sponsored plan are counted toward the employee's required contribution, subsequently reducing the amount required for their contribution.
Topics: ACA, PPACA Affordable Care Act, IRS, health reimbursement arrangements, HRA, Premium Tax Credits, Danielle Capilla