1. Small businesses (ie, business that aren't subject to the ACA's employer mandate) are allowed to reimburse employees for individual market health insurance: healthinsurance.org/small-group-he… HHS wants to allow large businesses to do so as well.
2. Here are the proposed regulations: s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspect…
3. A large employer that offers a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) that reimburses employees for individual market coverage would be deemed to be offering coverage, and thus in compliance with the employer mandate.
4. In an effort to prevent employers from shifting only their less healthy workers to the individual market, the proposed rules would only allow an employer to offer a particular class of workers *either* an HRA or a traditional group plan - not an option to choose either one.
5. The proposed rule also requires the HRA participants to actually be enrolled in individual market coverage (as opposed to just having the option to buy such coverage) in order for the plan to be in compliance w/ federal rules.
6. For now, the proposed rule says that the individual market coverage could not consist of excepted benefits, so short-term coverage could not be reimbursed with the HRA. But they're requesting comments on whether they should consider that (FWIW, no, they should not).
6. The proposed rule would also add a special enrollment period in the individual market for people who gain access to an HRA that would reimburse their individual market premiums (this would also apply to people who gain access to a QSEHRA)
7. By 2028, the Administration projects 10.7 million people would be receiving HRA funds to reimburse individual market health coverage (but 3.2 million fewer indiv. market enrollees w/o HRAs). And the population w/ traditional group coverage would drop by 6.8 million by 2028.
