With New $0 Fee Approach, StretchDollar Removes Barriers for Small Businesses’ Access to Health Benefits

The move makes StretchDollar the only ICHRA benefits company offering a fee-free platform as it expands nationwide

SAN FRANCISCO & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--StretchDollar, a startup that enables small businesses to provide pre-tax funding to employee-owned health insurance, has announced a significant shift to its business model. To remove barriers for small businesses' access to health benefits, StretchDollar is eliminating all fees.

“Making our benefits platform completely free means every dollar spent by small business owners goes directly to their employees, tax-free, to pay for their healthcare,” said Marshall Darr, co-founder and CEO of StretchDollar.

Launched in September 2023, StretchDollar leverages 2019 federal legislation that introduced pre-tax fixed benefits called Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs). StretchDollar creates simplified ICHRA policies that can be set up in as little as 10 minutes.

By removing all complexities and now all fees, StretchDollar becomes the only ICHRA benefits company offering a fee-free platform. Alongside this change, StretchDollar has also expanded to all 50 states, bringing its employee health insurance solution to small employers nationwide.

“By eliminating fees, we're showing our dedication to making employee health coverage simple, affordable, and most importantly, accessible for the 5 million small businesses who don’t currently have many viable options to help their people,” said Kaiza Molina, StretchDollar co-founder and COO.

U.S. employers have grappled with the escalating costs of employee health benefits for over a decade. It comes as no surprise, considering that health insurance premiums have surged by 400% since 2000. Among these, small businesses have been hit the hardest. Of the 5 million businesses in the US with fewer than ten employees, only 40% offer health benefits—a significant decline from the 60% reported a decade ago.

How employee health insurance works with StretchDollar is unique to traditional group health plans. Instead of a “one-size-fits-all” group health insurance policy that has minimum a participation rate, premium contribution requirements, and roughly 100 hours of administrative work to operate each year, with StretchDollar, employers can choose a monthly contribution toward the premiums of health plans employees choose and own from the marketplace. StretchDollar also offers licensed brokers to guide employees in the health plan shopping process and free medical bill negotiation for bills over $500.

Said Darr, "Our clients have been incredibly helpful since we launched. By eliminating all fees on our platform, we hope to make StretchDollar even more accessible for small employers - each offering unique and valuable insights into how we can fix benefits for the small business community."

To learn more about health benefits with StretchDollar, visit www.stretchdollar.com.

About StretchDollar

StretchDollar is on a mission to make health benefits simpler and more affordable for the more than five million U.S. small employers. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Learn more at StretchDollar.com or email [e-mail].