Explore how large employers can implement Obamacare plans for their workers and why you should consider them, as they can reduce your health expenses, increase your employee enrollment and retention, and simplify your health benefits administration.
Hi, I’m Jim Van Wyck, the news curator for HealthyHalo.com.
I’m always on the lookout for interesting and relevant articles.
Today, I found this amazing article from Bloomberg Law explaining how large employers fund Obamacare plans for their workers as health costs spike. You can read the full article [here].
Here is my summary of the main points of the article. I hope you find it useful.
Main Points
Obamacare is a federal law that aims to provide affordable and quality health insurance to Americans
- Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010.
- The law has several provisions that aim to expand health coverage, lower costs, improve quality, and protect consumers.
- Some of the key features of Obamacare include:
- The creation of health insurance marketplaces, where individuals and small businesses can shop for and compare plans.
- The expansion of Medicaid, a public program that provides health care to low-income people.
- The requirement for most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.
- The provision of subsidies and tax credits to help people afford health insurance.
- The prohibition of discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, gender, or age.
- Establish essential health benefits, a set of minimum standards for health plans.
- Implementing preventive care services, such as screenings and vaccines, at no cost to the consumer.
Large employers can fund Obamacare plans for their workers as an alternative to traditional group health plans.
- Large employers, defined as those with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees, are required by Obamacare to offer health insurance to their workers or face a penalty.
- However, some large employers have found a way to fund Obamacare plans for their workers instead of offering traditional group health plans.
- This strategy, known as the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA), allows employers to reimburse their workers for the cost of buying health insurance on the marketplaces.
- The ICHRA was introduced by the Trump administration in 2019 and became effective in 2020.
- The ICHRA has several advantages for both employers and employees, such as:
- Lower costs: Employers can set a fixed amount of money to reimburse their workers, which can be lower than the cost of providing group health plans. Employees can also save money by choosing cheaper plans or qualifying for subsidies.
- More choices: Employees can choose from a variety of plans on the marketplaces, which can suit their needs and preferences better than a one-size-fits-all group plan.
- More flexibility: Employers can customize the ICHRA to different groups of workers, such as full-time, part-time, seasonal, or remote. Employees can also change their plans during the year if their circumstances change.
- More simplicity: Employers can avoid the hassle of managing and administering group health plans, which can be complex and time-consuming. Employees can also benefit from the ease of using the marketplaces, which can provide online tools and assistance.
Many large employers have adopted the ICHRA strategy and reported positive results.
- The article cites some examples of large employers that have implemented the ICHRA strategy and reported positive results, such as:
- Denny’s, a restaurant chain with 10,000 workers, switched to the ICHRA in 2020 and saved $5 million in health expenses. The company also reported higher employee satisfaction and retention.
- LHC Group, a home health care provider with 30,000 workers, adopted the ICHRA in 2021 and reduced its health costs by 20%. The company also saw an increase in employee enrollment and coverage.
- QuikTrip, a convenience store chain with 24,000 workers, funded the ICHRA for its part-time workers in 2020 and expanded it to its full-time workers in 2021. The company also improved its employee benefits and competitiveness.
The ICHRA strategy is expected to grow in popularity and impact the health insurance market.
- The article predicts that the ICHRA strategy will become more popular among large employers in the future, as they seek to lower their health costs and offer more options to their workers.
- The article also suggests that the ICHRA strategy will have an impact on the health insurance market, as it will increase the demand and supply of individual health plans.
- Some of the possible implications of the ICHRA strategy for the health insurance market include:
- More competition: The ICHRA strategy will create more competition among health insurers, as they will have to attract and retain more individual customers. This could lead to lower prices, better quality, and more innovation.
- More regulation: The ICHRA strategy may require more regulation and oversight from the federal and state governments, as they will have to ensure that the marketplaces are fair, transparent, and efficient. This could also lead to more standardization, consistency, and accountability.
- More integration: The ICHRA strategy will create more integration between the employer and individual health markets, as they will have to coordinate and cooperate more. This could also lead to more alignment, collaboration, and communication.
My Biggest Takeaway
The biggest takeaway from this article for me is that Obamacare can be a powerful tool helping large employers and workers deal with the rising health costs.
By funding Obamacare plans for their workers through an ICHRA, large employers can save money, avoid penalties, and improve employee satisfaction. By choosing Obamacare plans, workers can get better coverage, lower premiums, and more choices.
This is a win-win situation for both parties, and a smart way to use Obamacare to their advantage.
Related Articles From Around The Internet
If you want to learn more about the ICHRA and how it works for large employers, you can check out these articles from different sources:
How Does an ICHRA Work for Large Companies – Nexben
This article explains how an ICHRA can help large companies control their rising health plan costs, offer competitive benefits packages, and simplify their health benefits administration. It also shows how Nexben, a platform that connects brokers, employers, and employees, can make the switch to an ICHRA easy and rewarding. You can read the full article here.
Large employers: understand ALE safe harbors and ICHRA
This article clarifies how an ICHRA can satisfy the employer mandate for applicable large employers (ALEs), as long as the ICHRA is affordable for employees. It also describes the different safe harbors that employers can use to estimate the affordability of an ICHRA, based on the lowest cost silver plan, the employee’s household income, and the employee’s location. You can read the full article here.
Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA)
This article provides a concise overview of what an ICHRA is, how it works, and who can use it. It also compares an ICHRA with other types of HRAs, such as QSEHRA and EBHRA, and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each. You can read the full article here.
ICHRA | What is an Individual Coverage HRA? | ADP
This article answers some frequently asked questions about an ICHRA, such as what it is, how it differs from a traditional group plan, who can offer it, who can participate in it, and how it affects taxes and subsidies. It also provides some tips on how to implement an ICHRA successfully, and how ADP, a provider of payroll and HR solutions, can help. You can read the full article here.
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