Let's set the record straight about ICHRAs. As with any new product or service, misconceptions can arise about value, scope, and purpose. Our "Myths vs. Facts" FAQ explains how ICHRAs create another option for employers to provide employees with comprehensive, ACA-compliant health coverage.

Myth 1: Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) are an invention of the Trump administration intending to weaken the quality of benefits that employees receive from their employers.

Fact: ICHRAs are similar to the Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement  Arrangement (QSEHRAs) enacted by Congress in 2016 in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote and signed into law by then-President Obama. The expanded rules permit employers to reimburse premiums for individual market coverage selected by employees.The coverage must comply with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ICHRAs and QSEHRAs are simply one method to provide employer-financed health coverage. This new option can increase the number of employees with ACA-compliant health coverage by providing employers with more options for offering health coverage benefits.

Myth 2: ICHRAs create a system that allows for picking and choosing who gets quality insurance based on, for example, their geography or pay structure.

This would only exacerbate the health care disparities in this country and begs for a workplace crisis when employees realize what is happening.