WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ECFC, the leading nonprofit organization promoting choice in benefit solutions, applauds the proposed regulations from the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor regarding expanding the use of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) by employers.
The DOL, Treasury Department, and the HHS have reviewed the previous requirements regarding HRAs and have issued proposed regulations which will provide additional opportunities for employers to offer HRAs to their employees.
“ECFC appreciates the efforts of the Administration for proposing regulations that would expand the opportunities for employers to offer HRAs to their employees,” said ECFC Executive Director Martin Trussell. “This is a positive step for employers and American workers. ECFC will continue to review the proposed regulations and look forward to providing additional comments to the Administration.”
The proposed rules would generally retain the current types of permitted HRAs (integrated HRAs, HRAs restricted to excepted benefits, and retiree-only HRAs) and also allow two new types of HRAs:
- An individual health insurance premium reimbursement HRA (provided that certain requirements related to nondiscrimination, notice, no other group health plan coverage, etc.) are satisfied.
- An excepted benefit HRA that generally allows up to $1,800 per year (plus carryover amounts) in reimbursement for medical expenses (OTHER than health insurance premiums) provided that employees are offered coverage under another group health plan sponsored by the employer.
For more information and to review the DOL’s release visit: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20181023.
About ECFC
ECFC is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining and expanding employee benefit programs on a tax-advantaged basis. ECFC represents and promotes employee benefit programs through effective lobbying and provides education and awareness to members, compensation practitioners, national opinion leaders and the general public to help advance healthcare consumerism. ECFC, which was founded in 1981 as the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, is the single organization that focuses its efforts on preserving, protecting and defending the tax-advantaged programs currently available to working families through employer plan sponsors. Visit https://ecfc.org/ for more information.
