A HAS or what is also commonly known as Health Reimbursement Arrangement has been approved by the IRS and is funded by employers. It is a tax-advantaged health benefits insurance for the employees which allows them to be reimbursed for the medical expenses that they had to spend from out of their pockets. This is also a health insurance policy that is premium. It is important to know that HRA is not considered to be health insurance. The HRA lets the employer contribute to the account of the employee and also provide the reimbursement for expenses that are eligible. An HRA insurance plan is also a smart and efficient way to provide health insurance benefits and let the employees pay for a varied range of medical costs that are not covered by their insurance policies.
The primary requirements for the HRA are 1) the plan can be funded primarily by just the employer and can also not be sponsored by deducting the salary of the employee and 2) the plan can provide the benefits especially for medical expenses that are substantiated.
In other words, the HRA is regarded as a copay or a deductible. Employees can partner up with their employers on any health plan that they choose. This works by the employer setting aside the allocated budget to the employee’s HRA. This is for an annual basis. The difference between the other health spending accounts is that only the employer can put the money into the HRA. The money is also available to the employee when the year starts.
HRAs can be designed however way the employer wants to fashion it. It should just suit the particular needs of both the employer as well as the employee. Interestingly, the HRA is the most flexible types, if not one of, among all the benefits plans for the employee. This is the very reason why it appeals to a number of employers.
A federal legislation was passed way back December 2016 and because of this, there is an HRA that is available specifically for small businesses. These are covered by new provisions by the HRA that are targeted solely for small businesses.
How to Use the HRA
When the policyholder goes to the hospital or sees a doctor, the money that is in his or her HRA is already qualified to cover the medical costs. A number of the members with HRAs have a payment process that is regarded as seamless. The doctors bill the employers and the employers use the funds from the employee’s HRA to pay the costs. This processed payment will then be recorded on the benefits and the explanation or what is also known as the EOB. The individual can also check the online account.
If the individual uses up all the amount that is in HRA even before the year ends, then he or she is required to pay what is owed out of his or her own pocket. If there is still money left toward the end of the year, there is a possibility that the employer may roll it over so that it can be used the next year. However, there are some employers that won’t do this so it is better to use it than lose it.
What Can It Be Spent On?
The employer decides which medical costs are eligible to be reimbursed. Usually, the HRAs cover:
The HRA cannot be used to pay the monthly premiums of any health insurance.
Advantages of the Health Reimbursement Arrangements
The HRA allows both the employer and the employee to save on the healthcare expenses.
These HRAs have benefits that help the policyholders save more especially when it comes to health care expenses.
Enrolling in the HRA can also provide major advantages, especially to employees. These are reduced health insurance premiums that result from the Health Plan that is High Deductible and the availability of sponsored funds from the employer to pay the medical costs that are incurred previously to the point when the deductible of the insurance has been met.
Expenses can be reimbursed from HRA depending on the design of the plan. This covers co-payments, prescription medications, dental expenses, vision expenses, co-insurance, and deductibles. This also includes other health-related expenses that were first paid by the employee from their pockets.
HRA funds are also contributed to the employees but on a pre-tax setting. The funds, therefore, aren’t taxable, especially to the employee. Hat being the case, employees do not have to claim that there is a deduction in their income tax for the expense that was reimbursed because of the HRA.
HRAs are commonly offered in relation to the Health Plan that is High Deductible. There is a rule that the High Deductible Plan results in a premium cost that has been reduced can create real savings for the healthcare costs which benefits the employer. HRA contributions can also be funded through the savings that are gained from the premium costs on the lower statute. By funding the HRA, the company’s employer can effectively bridge the gap that separates the higher deductibles from the expenditure amounts. This is where the insurance coverage gets a kick for the employees.
Above all, the contributions of the employer to the health reimbursement arrangements are completely tax-deductible. It is also tax-free for the employee.
Employers can establish the costs of the HRA funds – this includes every health-related qualified expense. Since these are also flexible, the HRA coverage allows the employers to control the costs especially when providing the benefits from the healthcare policy and at the same time provide benefits to the valued employee.
With the HRA< the healthcare expenditures of the employee are clear and visible for both the employer and the employee. This fosters a more open communication pathway as well as a bigger understanding on the overall costs of healthcare. On top of this, employees can also control and monitor the total healthcare costs and the upside to this is that they become more intelligent and more conscientious when consuming anything related to healthcare.
Deductible, Co-insurance, and Co-pay: Every medical expense that applies to the health plan as deductibles, co-pay amount and coinsurance total can all qualify and be eligible for reimbursement. These qualified expenses are incurred by employees as well as the family of the employees. The EOB or the statement on the Explanation of the Benefits that show the evidence of expenses. It applies to the deductible on the insurance and is also required for subtracting the requests for reimbursement.
Deductible: The total medical costs that apply to the deductible amount of the health plan can all qualify for reimbursement. This plan is the design that also does not include co-insurance or co-pay amounts. The qualified and eligible expenses that have been incurred by both the employee as well as the employee’s family are also considered as deductible. The EOB statement is required in order to substantiate requests for reimbursements.
All Medical Expenses That Are Uninsured: All medical expenses that were paid from the pockets of the employees or what is also regarded as uninsured costs are qualified and eligible. This also includes co-pays, dental, prescription, vision, coinsurance, and deductibles. These expenses can also be incurred via the employee or the family of the employee. Proof includes the EOB statement, the receipt the bill that identifies the specific date of service, the total amount of rendered service and the official name of the business of the service that provided this to the employee. These are the usual paperwork that are required to substantiate the reimbursement requests.
Specific Expenses: There are plans that are designed to just cover one limited service such as just dental, just vision, just orthodontia, just prescription medicine and more. Copies of the receipt or copies of the bill that also identify the date when the service was rendered, the total cost of the service and the provider of the service can be used to request for reimbursement.
More Facts About Heath Reimbursement Arrangements
One thing that should be known about the HRA is that these are merely notional arrangements. There are no funds that must be considered as expenses, not until the reimbursements have been paid. Through the Health Reimbursement Arrangements, employers can reimburse the employees directly, but this is only after the medical expenses that were incurred by the employee have been approved.
There are Annual Limits for some Health Reimbursement Arrangements
Like that of the HSA or the health savings account, there are limits to the overall amount of cash that any employer contributes to specific HRAs. There are annual contributions of the employer for HRAs of small businesses and reach a cap that amounts to $4,950. This is for single employees. If the employee has a family, then the cap is $10,000.
As for the other HRAs, like the one-person HRA that is Stand-Alone and the Integrated HRA, the contributions on a yearly basis are limitless.
Eligible Expenses of Health Reimbursement Arrangement
An HRA can be reimbursed at any expense and is also regarded as an eligible medical cost as stated under Section 213 of the IRS code. This includes the premiums for the health insurance coverage care of policies. It is also under the IRS guidelines that employers can restrict what can be reimbursed in whatever way the opt to especially since it is their health reimbursement arrangement plan.
HRAs Can Roll Over
The HRA can also roll forward to the next month or even the next year. It depends on the Health Reimbursement Arrangement Plan as chosen by the employer. The small businesses that have HRA can also roll forward to another month. The difference is that they cannot roll onward to the next year.
As for the Stand-Alone HRAs for a single individual or the Integrated HRAs, there are employers that let the balances accrue from one specific year and then onward to the next year. They can also design these programs in such a way that makes it not possible for the HRA to roll over annually.
Employers can let the employees access their HRA accounts when they retire.
Reporting Features of the Administration of the HRA
The reporting features of the HRA administration require monitoring in real-time. The liabilities, utilization, and reimbursements have to be meticulously looked at. Employers can also change the plans and the benefits any time they want or they can cancel it altogether, as long as the HRAs of the Small Businesses are supplied to the employees and they are also informed ahead of time.
Discrimination Testing Along with the HIPAA
The HIPAA is also known as the Act for the Accountability and Portability of Health Insurance. Plans should avoid discrimination especially concerning the employees. This includes looking into the plan’s parameters and the allocation of the funds. It must ensure all employees can have similar access to this particular funded account.
HRA is also for Retired Employees
There are HRA plans that cover employees who are already retired, as well as their spouses and their tax dependents. Employers consider the HRA as the alternative to traditional healthcare in a retirement home, which is actually more expensive.
What Happens to the Health Reimbursement Arrangements When Employee Resigns?
Since the employer owns the account of the employee and the latter decides to leave the job that he gets from the employer, he may only be able to keep using it, once the employer decides to let him or the costs are qualified. If not, then the benefits end once the employee resigns and it’s only fair that it does.
If the individual is unsure whether the company and the employer offers HRA, the way to find out is to directly speak with the Human Resources Department and find out.
